Ron Carter and Bill Frisell
Birdland
Through October 11

Ron Carter Month at Birdland (“Ron-Tober”)
Through November 1
Live-streaming performances every Thursday at 7 p.m.

One of the most famous lines in all of music criticism was given to us by Benny Green, who, in a 1959 review of the Modern Jazz Quartet and their amazing drummer, Connie Kay, said, “It suddenly occurred to me that there were three thousand of us sitting there watching a man with a small beard hit a small bell with a small stick.”

On Wednesday evening, it occurred to me that there were about 200 of us crammed into Birdland — way more than the club’s official capacity — sitting on the edge of our seats, watching two men pluck and strum on two different sets of strings, one horizontal and one vertical. 

Normally the club has a boisterous and even rowdy atmosphere; after all, people are eating and drinking … and drinking. But this night, even where I was sitting at the bar, everyone seemed to be as sober as a judge while the room itself was as quiet as a churchyard, like the crowd didn’t want to miss a single pluck.

The reason was the duo of two legendary musicians, bassist Ron Carter and guitarist Bill Frisell, which officially marks the start of Mr. Carter’s annual monthlong residency at Birdland. Mr. Carter, 88, and Mr. Frisell, 74, have played together before, as part of drummer Joey Barron’s quartet and also in a trio with another drummer, the late Paul Motian, but this is a rare instance of them doing a four-night/eight-show run together as a duo.

Mr. Carter announced the late set on the opening night as their “second rehearsal,” which brought a laugh from the house; he’s an understated, soft-spoken host, whose minimalist witticisms never fail to land. The show consisted of mostly standards, plus a few Carter originals, among them a waltz and at least one example of the blues.

The opener, the 1932 Arthur Schwartz show tune “Alone Together” served as a mission statement: The two halves of the musical equation were indeed alone together. For the most part, Mr. Frisell assumed the main melodic responsibilities for each tune, but Mr. Carter provided him with so much support, both harmonic and rhythmic, that it was impossible to divide them into the clearly defined roles of soloist and accompanist. 

Mr. Frisell is fully capable of creating lush soundscapes in which he serves simultaneously as foreground and background, but here he was rewarded by leaving sufficient space for Mr. Carter to fill. As a result, I was reminded that Mr. Frisell is a fabulous interpreter of standard melodies, even though that’s not what he’s primarily known for.

The second piece was “Little Waltz,” which Mr. Carter informed us had begun as part of a classical etude that he had published. It seems to have been first played on “Prairie Dog,” a 1966 album by pianist Duke Pearson, which, surprisingly, Mr. Carter was not a part of. This number had a particularly strong solo by Mr. Carter for which Mr. Frisell provided support, illuminating the tune with well-chosen and well-placed notes in the background. He followed with another original, “That’s Deep,” of which he told us that the title was inspired by “How Deep is the Ocean,” but to me the piece itself sounded more like a blues. 

The twosome followed with three very different standards of very different backgrounds: Hank Williams’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” showcased Mr. Frisell, who has made a specialty of what some have labeled “jazz Americana,” innovative and highly personal treatments of folk and country songs. Here he phrased the tune while Mr. Carter seemed to be nudging it into 3/4 time with a background part that recalled “All Blues.” 

Then, Jimmy Van Heusen’s “It Could Happen to You” — Mr. Carter informed us that it was in E flat — served as a boppish medium uptempo romper.  Burt Bacharach’s tunes are generally rather complex and baroque, and hence Mr. Frisell surprised us with a hauntingly spare and very poignant solo reading of “What the World Needs Now” that de-emphasized the waltziness of it all.

Mr. Carter announced a blues, and the two obliged with “Billie’s Bounce” by Charlie Parker, followed by an equally bouncy “Autumn Leaves” and a poignant “In a Sentimental Mood.” They also played “Third Plane,” a 1977 original he had composed for the VSOP Quintet.  

Then the twosome finished with a fast reading of “There Will Never Be Another You,” which Mr. Carter announced as being a dedication to the collective “you” in the house, the audience. This was the only number where I noticed the two participants engaging in something as basic as a rudimentary trade of fours or a chase chorus — for the most part their interplay is much less obvious.

Mind you, this was only the second set of this latest month-long run of 32 shows with four different bands. Next week, Mr. Carter introduces his New Jazz Trio with alto saxophonist Donald Harrison and pianist Donald Vega, followed by, starting October 22, his familiar Foursight Quartet with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene, pianist Renee Rosnes, and drummer Payton Crossley. The month concludes starting October 29 with Mr. Carter’s big band, which wowed us all at Marcus Garvey Park a few months ago during the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.

After Mr. Frisell finished his unaccompanied reading of “What the World Needs Now,” Mr. Carter said something to the effect of whenever Bill Frisell plays solo, you are always “looking for the other person.” That applies even more properly to this duo; it’s hard to believe so much great music is coming out of a mere two players.  From where I was sitting at the bar I could hear fine, but the sightlines weren’t great. Every time I managed to get a clear look at the stage, I found myself momentarily scratching my head and asking, “Where’s the rest of this big band?”