Introduction to a Versatile Musician

Benny Carter recorded for such a lengthy period in so many different settings that one could make a dozen, entirely different lists of his finest work.

That said, here’s a grouping that offers a brief introduction to the remarkable range of his talents.

* Six CDs on the Melodie Jazz Classic label (available from Amazon.com) provide a comprehensive overview of Carter’s early career. The individual discs are titled “1929-1933,” “1933-1936,” “1936,” “1937-1939,” “1939-1940” and “1940-1941,” and cover everything from his work with the Chocolate Dandies to his own big band.

* “Cosmopolite: The Oscar Peterson Sessions” (Verve, 1952-54). Carter swings with Peterson’s marvelous early quartets, which featured bassist Ray Brown and Barney Kessel or Herb Ellis on guitar.

* “Benny Carter New Jazz Sounds: The Urbane Sessions” (Verve, 1952). A double CD from the ‘50s, featuring Carter performing with strings and in sessions with Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie.

* “Further Definitions” (GRP/Impulse!, 1961). A CD that includes the original LP release as well as a follow-up album, “Additions to Further Definitions” from 1966. Carter’s arrangements for saxophone quartet--revisiting a similar session he did in 1937--are played by, among others, Coleman Hawkins, Phil Woods, Charlie Rouse and Carter.

* “Benny Carter Songbook” (volumes 1 and 2, Music Masters, 1995). Carter’s songs sung by, among others, Joe Williams, Diana Krall, Jon Hendricks, Peggy Lee, Shirley Horn and Carter.