Renowned jazz violinist Regina Carter returns to NC State for three performances on Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21, in the Titmus Theatre. The concerts will focus on music from her critically acclaimed album, Southern Comfort, arrangements of folk tunes and spirituals from the South.
Carter is considered the foremost jazz violinist of her generation. Winner of a coveted 2006 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellowship, she is also a resident artistic director at SFJAZZ.
In 1987 she joined the all-female pop-jazz quintet Straight Ahead, appearing on three albums before leaving the band to live in New York, where she picked up session work with Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton and others.
She released her self-titled solo album on Atlantic in 1995, followed by Something for Grace, a 1997 album dedicated to her mother. Carter also toured with Wynton Marsalis that same year, then switched to the Verve label where she released Rhythms of the Heart in 1999. Motor City Moments, a tribute to her hometown, followed in 2000.
Musical History
In December 2001, she traveled to Genoa, Italy, and made musical history by being the first jazz musician and the first African American to play the legendary Guarneri Del Gesu violin, made in 1743 and owned by classical music virtuoso and composer Niccolo Paganini. This encounter inspired her 2003 album, Paganini: After a Dream, which featured works by Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. She recorded I’ll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey in 2006.
Reverse Thread, released in May 2010, was a celebration of traditional African music via a contemporary perspective. Carter also took her pioneering spirit on the road in the late summer and fall of 2012 for a two-month world tour with rock icon Joe Jackson’s stellar ensemble in support of his release The Duke, a collection of interpretations of Duke Ellington’s work.
Carter continues her musical quest for beauty and history with her Sony Music Masterworks debut Southern Comfort, in which she investigates her family history and explores the folk tunes her paternal grandfather, a coal miner, would have heard as he toiled in Alabama. The expanded project includes a blend of folk songs and spirituals, serving as Carter’s interpretation of her roots through a modern lens.
Buy Tickets Now
Tickets are available through Ticket Central, located on the main level of Thompson Hall, open 1-6 p.m., Monday through Friday. To order in person, call 919-515-1100, or purchase online at go.ncsu.edu/regina. Advance purchase is strongly recommended, as these concerts are expected to sell out in advance. Tickets are $5 for current NC State students, $27 for NC State faculty and staff, and $32 for the public.
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