Carlos Ward

Carlos Nathaniel Ward (born May 1, 1940 in Ancón , Panama ) is an American jazz musician (alto saxophone, flute, composition) of Panamanian origin.

Live and act

Ward, who grew up in Seattle , began playing the clarinet at the age of thirteen and was soon involved in the school band. With John Jessen he took clarinet and saxophone lessons ; after being drafted into the military, he attended the Navy School of Music and then played in military bands in Germany. During this time he met in jam sessions at Albert Mangelsdorff and Karl Berger . In Frankfurt am Main he had the opportunity to hear Eric Dolphy in one of his last concerts. After his military service, he met John Coltrane in Seattle in 1965 and was able to get on every night of the guest performance. That same year, he moved to New York City to join Coltrane's group. There he also played with Sunny Murray , Don Cherry , Berger, David Izenzon , Rashied Ali and Paul Motian . He joined the Jazz Composer's Orchestra , where he met Carla Bley , in whose group he then also played.

In 1972 Ward joined the radio band B. T. Express , with whom he recorded some hits. In 1973 he began working with Abdullah Ibrahim , in whose group he remained as an important soloist until 1986. He later became a member of various groups of Don Cherry, such as NU (together with Mark Helias , Ed Blackwell and Naná Vasconcelos ). In 1986 he replaced Jimmy Lyons in Cecil Taylor's group before founding his own quartet with Charles Sullivan , Alex Blake and Ronnie Burrage in 1987 , but also recorded with Woody Shaw at the North Sea Jazz Festival . In the 1990s he played with both Cherry and Don Pullen's African-Brazilian Connection .

As a saxophonist, Ward is characterized by a rough, bluesy tone and great adaptability to different contexts.

Lexigraphic entries

• Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz music. 1700 artists and bands from the beginning until today. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1999, ISBN 3-476-01584-X .
• Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York NY et al. 2007, ISBN 978-0-19-532000-8 .
• Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 2: M – Z (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16513). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16513-9 .