JAZZTIMES.COM 33Like many other expatriate American
jazzmen, Carter found the more conge-
nial racial attitude and higher acclaim
given to jazz musicians overseas to be
a tonic, but at the same time he began
to thirst for the purer springs of his
chosen art form back home.
Despite his admiration for Carter,
there are signs that Hodges ultimately
developed feelings of professional envy
towards him. Carter was not just a
musician but also a successful arranger,
composer and bandleader, and thus
achieved something Hodges didn’t; in-
dependence, both artistic and financial,
from a bandleader. Jazzbos who rated
intellect above emotion tended to favor
Carter, as evidenced by some doggerel
comparing the two that appeared in a
1942 issue of Swing magazine over the
nom de plume “Snooty McSiegle”:
Johnny Hodges
Sounds gorgeous.
He knows how to jump it.
But Benny Carter
Is smarter.
He doubles on trumpet.Carter was deferential to Hodges in
some areas, such as the slow numbers
in the Ellington repertoire; in 1977
at a performance in London, Carter
stopped the pianist when he played
two choruses of “Sophisticated Lady,”
saying he “didn’t like to play that
particular Ellington so closely associ-
ated with Johnny Hodges because the
audience was expecting to hear it as
Johnny did it. I knew I couldn’t satisfy
those who wanted it played as Johnny
would have done it.”
In 1968 Hodges and Carter appeared
together at the Newport Jazz Festival
along with Ellington and his rhythm
section. Like many all-star aggre-
gations, this one didn’t live up to its
promise. Ellington and Carter shared a
dressing room, which Hodges entered
before the performance to ask, “What
are we going to play?” Ellington an-
swered, “I don’t know.” Ellington faced
a looming deadline for a magazine arti-
cle, and after musing to himself, turned
to Stanley Dance, the Boswell to his
Samuel Johnson, and said, “Write this
down for me, please: ‘When a sympho-
ny man wants to know about jazz, he
goes to Benny Carter. When a jazz man
wants to know about the symphony, he
goes to Benny Carter.’”
Ellington used the same words to
introduce Carter a few moments later,
but as the three stood in the wings he
repeated to Hodges and Carter thathe didn’t know what they would play.
Once they were on stage, Ellington
called for “Satin Doll,” then “Take the
A Train.” Carter looked mystified, and
played in a confused manner. Ellington
then played a blues on which Carter
and Hodges traded riffs, then two more
tunes from the band’s regular reper-
toire. The set ended with a new number
that Ellington’s small group had only
begun to play recently, on which Carter
trailed along with the help of a hastily
produced lead sheet.
The set was, in the words of two jazz
critics who were present, “shameful”
and “the height of ineptness.” Carter,
known for his gentlemanly demeanor
and unwillingness to say anything
negative about another jazzman was,
as always, courtly and conciliatory:
“Puzzling things occasionally take
place on the bandstand when mixed
units are put together hurriedly ...
I just try to play my part without
worrying about anything else. I don’t
think Duke or Johnny meant to be
rude.” For whatever reason, Ellington
seemed to have ambivalent feelings
about Carter; while publicly praising
him, when it came time to write his
autobiography, he mentioned Carter
only once and left him off a list of
innovators on the saxophone.
Hodges may have been innocent in
that incident, but he seemed guilty of
rudeness towards Carter on another
occasion, when Ellington needed asecond alto at a Reno, Nevada gig in- He called Carter and asked him
(perhaps disingenuously) if he knew of
anyone who was available. When Car-
ter offered his own services, Ellington
said he couldn’t afford him, but Carter
said he’d do the gig “for kicks” if Duke
would cover his expenses.
And so Carter rejoined the Elling-
ton band after a 42-year absence (he
had previously spent a few weeks with
Ellington in 1926, before Hodges joined
in 1928). He was received cordially by
everyone—except Hodges. As Carter
took his seat Hodges gave him a grudg-
ing hello, then turned his back “and
never said anything else,” according to
Carter’s biographers.
While Hodges was known for being
taciturn, his chilly reaction to the pres-
ence of his principal competitor on that
job may have reflected tensions between
him and his boss; Hodges was persistent
in demanding better pay, and Ellington’s
choice of Carter as a temporary stand-in
may have been intended to tweak the
ego of Hodges, his resident diva.
But 35 years after their first en-
counter in Saratoga Springs, Hodges’
admiration for Carter endured. Asked
by Stanley Dance in 1960 which alto
players he especially admired, Hodges
emphatically named as his first choice
Willie Smith, known primarily for his
work with Jimmie Lunceford’s band.
And whom did he consider second
after Smith?
Benny Carter, he said. JT
When Carter
rejoined the
Ellington band
after a 42-year
absence, he
was received
cordially by
everyone—
except Hodges.