When Skies Are Grey

From his early days in Miles Davis' quintet to his groundbreaking work with the rap trio A Tribe Called Quest, Ron Carter is the rare bassist who propels music as much with his ideas as his skills. On this, his first album-length experiment with Latin jazz, Carter realizes that others have come before him, so rather than beat the congas to a pulp, his expert quartet, featuring ace percussionist Steve Kroon, flirts with them. Latin classics like Besame Mucho and Corcovado are splendidly reworked into disciplined, mid-tempo jazz tunes, while samba-flavored Carter originals Loose Change and Mi Tempo prove that playing in the cultural middle ground has its own intellectual thrill.