Ron Carter Trio with Russell Malone & Donald Vega at Yoshi's Oakland

Walk or wander into the world of jazz. Ron Carter is there. His reputation in the music world is peerless. He stylishly accompanies any player or group and, without breaking stride, performs with stunning virtuosity as a soloist. His work is rich in detail, pure in sound, and technically impressive. His long list of accolades as a performer is unprecedented; he may be the most popular bassist there is. A lean six feet four inches with a mixture of pride and courtliness, Ron displays an elegant calm on stage as well as off. He has created music with consummate skill for more than forty-five years, apparently without rumpling his tasteful suits or raising a serious sweat. In the early 1960s, he performed throughout the United States in nightclubs and concert halls with Eric Dolphy, Jaki Byard, and Wes Montgomery, then toured Europe with Cannonball Adderley. He was a member of Miles Davis's now classic quintet from 1963 to 1968, along with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter....

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Walk or wander into the world of jazz. Ron Carter is there. His reputation in the music world is peerless. He stylishly accompanies any player or group and, without breaking stride, performs with stunning virtuosity as a soloist. His work is rich in detail, pure in sound, and technically impressive. His long list of accolades as a performer is unprecedented; he may be the most popular bassist there is. A lean six feet four inches with a mixture of pride and courtliness, Ron displays an elegant calm on stage as well as off. He has created music with consummate skill for more than forty-five years, apparently without rumpling his tasteful suits or raising a serious sweat. In the early 1960s, he performed throughout the United States in nightclubs and concert halls with Eric Dolphy, Jaki Byard, and Wes Montgomery, then toured Europe with Cannonball Adderley. He was a member of Miles Davis's now classic quintet from 1963 to 1968, along with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter.

Ron was among the few bassists who continued to play acoustic bass when many turned to electric bass. "It was a conscious choice," he says. "I felt a responsibility to present a viable alternative to the popular electric sound." One of Ron's chief traits is that he creates bass lines so harmonically and rhythmically rich that soloists must go far to respond to his challenge. As he puts it: "A good bassist determines the direction of any band." Often Ron uses gonglike tones and glissandos in his work. Once his exclusive trademark, these sounds have now become part of every modern bassist's vocabulary.

Russell Malone first worked with master Jazz organist Jimmy Smith in 1988, and between 1990 and 1994 toured with Harry Connick, Jr. During the late nineties Malone toured internationally with Diana Krall, receiving critical acclaim in his role as Diana's right hand both in concert and on her recordings. Russell has also shared the stage with artists of the caliber of Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Claude Fiddler Williams, Bucky Pizzarelli, Jack McDuff, John Hicks, Clarence Carter, Little Anthony, Freddie Cole, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut and Patti Austin. Malone was also a featured performer in Robert Altman's 1996 film "Kansas City."

Classically-trained in his native Nicaragua, Donald Vega emigrated to the United States at age 14 and began learning the language of jazz from mentor Billy Higgins at The World Stage and later with bassist John Clayton at the University of Southern California. He went on to graduate from Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School where he studied with piano great, Kenny Barron.

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