Ron Carter Takes “Time After Time” for a Walk and Never Misses a Step

There are walking bass lines and then there is Ron Carter walking a bass line.

Carter joined pianist Emmet Cohen and drummer Joe Farnsworth for this gorgeous performance of “Time After Time,” the 1947 standard by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. From the first chorus, Carter is doing what he has done better than just about anyone for decades. Every note has a purpose, every quarter note lands exactly where it should, and the line just keeps moving.

Carter is the most recorded jazz bassist in history, with more than 2,200 recordings to his name. His legendary run with Miles Davis from 1963 to 1968 helped redefine the role of the bass in a jazz group and nearly six decades later, that unmistakable sense of time is still right there.  The tone is just as beautiful. Carter is on upright bass through an Ampeg B 15, and the combination sounds absolutely perfect here.

Cohen has been giving us plenty of great bass playing lately, too. His 2026 album, “Universal Truth,” features Carter on three tracks and Yasushi Nakamura throughout much of the rest of the record. Cohen also recently brought John Patitucci in for a marathon session with Chris Potter and Johnathan Blake.

Watching Ron walk through “Time After Time” is a reminder that sometimes the deepest bass playing sounds completely effortless. What a master.