Ron Carter

Ron Carter is among the most original, prolific, and influential bassists in jazz. He has recorded over 2200 albums, and has a Guinness world record to prove it!

In Jazz: Over his 60 year career, he has recorded with so many of the jazz greats greats: Lena Horne, Bill Evans, B.B. King, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, Bobby Timmons, Eric Dolphy, Cannonball Adderley and Jaki Byard to name a few. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet.

In other genres: After leaving the quintet he embarked on a prolific 50-year free lance career that spanned vastly different music genres and continues to this day. He recorded with Aretha Franklin, appeared on the seminal hip-hop album Low End Theory with a Tribe Called Quest, wrote and recorded pieces for string quartets and Bach chorales for 2-8 basses and accompanied Danny Simmons on a spoken word album.

As a leader: Carter spends at least half the year on worldwide tours with his various groups. The Ron Carter Trio, The Ron Carter quartet, the Ron Carter Nonet and Ron Carter’s Great Big Band. He has recorded multiple albums with his groups.

As an author: Carter shares his expertise in the series of books he authored, where he explains his creative process and teaches bassists of all levels to improve their skills and develop their own unique sound. He also penned his autobiography “Finding the Right Notes” which is available in print and also as an audiobook read by the Maestro himself.

As a teacher: Carter has lectured, conducted, and performed at clinics and master classes, instructing jazz ensembles and teaching the business of music at numerous universities. He was Artistic Director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Studies while it was located in Boston and, after 18 years on the faculty of the Music Department of The City College of New York, he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus, he currently teaches at Manhattan School of Music.

In film scoring: In addition to scoring and arranging music for many films, including some projects for Public Broadcasting System, Carter composed music for A Gathering of Old Men, starring Lou Gosset Jr., The Passion of Beatrice directed by Bertrand Tavernier, and Blind Faith starring Courtney B. Vance.

Film appearances: Most jazz documentaries feature the Maestro because of his indelible contribution to the genre. Ken Burns “Jazz”, “Birth of the Cool” about Miles Davis, "It Must be Schwing", the story of the Blue Note and many more. He also appeared as himself in HBO’s hit series “Treme” and was the bassist on soundtracks of Twin Peaks, Bird, and way too many others to mention.

Jon Batiste

One of the most prolific and versatile musicians of any generation, Jon Batiste has spent his career bringing music back to where it started — with the people.

In 2015, Jon was named bandleader and musical director of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on CBS. In 2018, he received a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Performance and in 2020, he received two Grammy nods for albums he self-produced: Chronology of a Dream: Live at the Village Vanguard and Meditations (with Cory Wong).

In 2020, Jon won an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the Disney/Pixar film Soul, an honor he shared with fellow composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Jon's work on Soul also earned him a Golden Globe, BAFTA, NAACP Image Award and a Critic's Choice Award. Jon was the second black composer in history, after legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock, to win an Academy Award for composition.

Jon's latest studio album, WE ARE, was released in March 2021 to overwhelming critical acclaim. The versatility of the album which was envisioned by Batiste as he processed the tumultuous times of 2020, earned him praise by New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard and more. The deluxe edition of the album, with six additional tracks, was released in October 2021.

Partisan Pictures
Executive Producer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer

Peter Schnall

Peter Schnall, a 7-time EMMY Award and Peabody Award winner, recently executive produced and directed OBAMA, a 5-hour series on the legacy of President Barack Obama for MSNBC / NBC Studios.  The series broadcast was the highest rated cable news program on its opening night.

After nearly ten years as an independent, Peter began a remarkable six-year stint as Producer/Cinematographer and Senior Producer of the National Geographic Television weekly series Explorer.

In 2017 Peter’s company, Partisan Pictures, celebrated its 20th year and was listed as one of the top 100 Global Independent Production companies by Realscreen magazine.

When Oprah Winfrey wanted a trusted filmmaker to document her month-long humanitarian sojourn to South Africa to draw attention to the plight of children with AIDS and her work with Nelson Mandela, she turned to Peter; and when the U.S. Secret Service granted and allowed, for the first time, a documentary crew to imbed inside their top-secret organization, it was Peter Schnall and Partisan Pictures who were granted access.

Peter became the first filmmaker allowed full and unprecedented access to the Presidential Airlift Group, otherwise known as the crew who maintains and flies Air Force One. Peter’s global travels on board Air Force One spanned 3 continents with 3 separate presidents.

Peter’s one-hour specials for National Geographic – ON BOARD AIR FORCE ONE, ON BOARD MARINE ONE and GEORGE W. BUSH: THE 9/11 INTERVIEW – became 3 of the highest-rated specials for the Channel.

Schnall produced, directed and filmed the nationally-televised, two-hour PBS special, THE WHITE HOUSE: INSIDE STORY, which included exclusive White House interviews with President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

His feature doc, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN REVISITED, with executive producer Robert Redford, was nominated for a Prime-Time Emmy, Outstanding Documentary.

Schnall directed and produced the MSNBC / RACHEL MADDOW special BETRAYAL: THE PLOT THAT WON THE WHITE HOUSE.

Lucas Groth

Editor and Producer

Lucas Groth is a documentary editor and producer based in New York’s Hudson Valley and working out of New York City. With over a decade of professional experience, his work on award-winning films and television has reached audiences domestically and internationally. His film The Bengali (2021, as producer and editor) won the International Humanitarian Award at Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival as well as the Special Jury Award at Roxbury International Film Festival. Lucas was the 2019 recipient of the School of Visual Arts - Social Documentary Film Alumni Editing Fellowship, which facilitated his work on The Bengali. He was lead editor on Peacock's first original documentary series John Wayne Gacy: Devil In Disguise (Peacock 2021). His short Cuban Canvas (2018, as editor) has screened at festivals around the world, winning Best Documentary Short at the 2018 Mystic Film Festival. His work has shown on PBS, Peacock, MSNBC, EPIX, Sundance Channel, and more; and has played in film festivals around the world. 

Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes marks the fourth collaboration between Lucas Groth as editor with director Peter Schnall. Their previous works include USO – For the Troops (PBS 2016), Betrayal: The Plot that Won the White House (MSNBC 2018), and Obama (MSNBC 2020). Learn more at www.lucasgroth.com

A FILM BY
PETER SCHNALL

PRODUCER & EDITOR
LUCAS GROTH

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
JOHN MATERA
AMY MORITZ
PETER SCHNALL

PRODUCED & DIRECTED BY
PETER SCHNALL

A PARTISAN PICTURES PRODUCTION

MUSIC SUPERVISOR
Jonathan Zalban

CINEMATOGRAPHERS
Andrew Baker
Peter Schnall

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Lena Schnall

CONSULTING PRODUCER
Cyndee Readdean

FEATURING
Jon Batiste
Herbie Hancock

Sonny Rollins
Christian McBride
George Benson
Stanley Clarke
Russell Malone
Donald Vega
Payton Crossley
Victor Wooten
Nanny Assis
Chico Pinheiro
Buster Williams
Poogie Bell
Bill Frisell
Brandi Disterheft
Mark Ruffin
Sergio Larios
Dan Oullette

ADDITIONAL CAMERA
Mark Petersson
Henry Adebonojo

SOUND RECORDISTS
José Araujo
Stephen Graham
John Murphy
Rick Lombardo
Frank Coakley

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Asa Goodman

FRENCH CREW
FROGGIE PRODUCTIONS
Xavier Roy
Sandrine Dumas

SOUND RECORDIST
Emmanuel Germond

SOUND DESIGNER / MIXER
Brian Beatrice

SOUND EDITOR
Edward Zak

ONLINE EDITOR  / COLORIST
Bjorn Bellenbaum

CONSULTING ARCHIVAL PRODUCER
Emily Harrold

ARCHIVAL RESEARCHER
Cornelia Schnall

LEGAL
ROMANO LAW
Shaliz Sadig Romano
Domenic Romano
JOSHUA  GRAUBART

FOR PBS:
EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF PROGRAMMING
Bill Gardner

Special Thanks

Penny Kjellberg
SWING STATE MUSIC LLC

Simone Banos
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIST

JoAnne Jimenez
THE BRIDGE AGENCY

BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB, NEW YORK

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB, NEW YORK
Gianni Valenti, Owner

DETROIT JAZZ FESTIVAL
Christopher Collins, President & Artistic Director

NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL
Carolyn McClair, PR Director

ST. REMY JAZZ FESTIVAL, FRANCE

BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC, BOSTON
Steve Bailey, Chair Bass Department

BASS HIT RECORDING STUDIO, NEW YORK
Dave Darlington

THE NATIONAL JAZZ MUSEUM IN HARLEM

EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC ROCHESTER NEW YORK

FIORELLO H. LAGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL
OF MUSIC & ART AND PERFORMING ARTS, NEW YORK

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC

Lenny White
Gary Bartz
Patrice Ruffin
Wallace Roney
Robert Hurst
Geri Allen
Jimmy Greene
Chris Jisi
Jim Anderson
Diane D. Turner

Carolyn Malleck
Eric Jackson
Tessil Collins
Jordy Freed
John Pattitucci
Alexa Tarantino
Tal Wilkenfeld
Eric Angelson
Dan Makuch
Aaron Mathews

DEDICATED TO JOE HARRIS
DRUMMER & EDUCATOR

IN MEMORY OF MYLES CARTER