Ward, Carlos (1st May 1940-Present)

He is a saxophonist and flautist born in La Boca, Panama to a family where his aunt and uncle were both successful pianists. His family had moved to Seattle, Washington, by the time he was thirteen, which was when he began to play the clarinet that led him into performing on the flute and saxophone over time.

He went into the military, getting posted to Frankfurt, Germany, and during these years he took studies at the Navy School of Music and met the arranger Coleridge Taylor-Perkinson who encouraged him.

After leaving the service in the early 1960s he started working as a sideman and from 1965 to 1966 he worked with John Coltrane during his visit to Seattle and then again after he had relocated to New York. From that time on he freelanced as a sideman with many of the up and coming jazz artists and also became a member of the Jazz Composer’s Orchestra.

During the early 1970s he began a long term working relationship with Don Cherry, appearing on several of his recordings that included the 1973 Relativity Suite, which featured him giving a solo performance.

1973 also saw him starting another long term collaboration with the pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. The year previous he had teamed up with the Brooklyn’s King Davis House Rockers who became Madison Street Express and eventually B.T. Express and saw success with their funk hits “Do It (‘Til You’re Satisfied)” and “Express”.

In 1986/7 he joined up with the Cecil Taylor Unit and the Ed Blackwell Project, and wanting to lead his own ensemble he formed a quartet and released the 1988 live album Lito.

Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s he continued to perform and record as a sideman. His solo recording career also continued with the 1994 release of Faces, the 1995 Live at the Bug & Other Sweets and the 1998 Set for 2 Dons.

B.T. Express recordings
Give It What You Got
(Roadshow S62191) (US promo 45)

Sources:

Ward, Carlos (1st May 1940-Present)

Navigation