A recipient of the 2023 NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship, a MacArthur “genius” award, and a Doris Duke Artist Award, violinist Regina Carter has been widely hailed for her mastery of the instrument and her drive to expand its possibilities.
Her current project, Gone in a Phrase of Air, is a musical, spoken word, and media exploration of the impact of urban renewal beginning in the 1950s on Black and immigrant communities and the displacement that resulted—of people and culture—from neighborhoods in Regina’s hometown of Detroit to others in St. Louis, Chicago, New York City, and elsewhere. In the work’s collection of original and reimagined music of the era, Regina shines a spotlight on what’s been lost—gone in a phrase of air—then finds celebration in the ashes.
Regina began studying violin at the age of four using the Suzuki method. She attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit, and her training continued at the New England Conservatory of Music and at Oakland University in Michigan.
A winner of multiple readers’ and critics’ poll awards from DownBeat, JazzTimes, and other publications and a three time Grammy nominee, Regina tours with her own group and has appeared frequently as a guest soloist, including with such performers as Wynton Marsalis and JALC, Kenny Barron, Arturo O’Farrill, the late bassist Ray Brown, Omara Portundo, Chucho Valdes, Mary J Blige, Dolly Parton , Rhiannon Giddens, Steve Turre, Stefon Harris, the late Aretha Franklin, Joe Jackson, Billy Joel, Akua Dixon, Cassandra Wilson, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Eddie Palmieri, Papo Vasquez and others.
Her albums include a self-titled solo debut Regina Carter (Atlantic 1995), Something for Grace (Atlantic 1997), Rhythms of the Heart (Verve 1999), Motor City Moments (Verve 2000),Paganini: After a Dream (Verve,2003), on which she made history by being the first non-classical violinist to play Niccolò Paganini’s Il Cannone, I’ll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey (Verve 2006), Reverse Thread (E1 Music, 2010), Southern Comfort (Sony Masterworks, 2014); Ella: Accentuate the Positive (OKeh, 2017); and Swing States: Harmony in the Battleground (Tiger Turn, 2020)
Regina recently joined the esteemed faculty of UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Past positions have included being on faculty at Manhattan School of Music and New Jersey City University, resident artist for San Francisco Performances and resident artistic director for SFJAZZ. She has also served three times as a jurist for the Pulitzer Prize for music and as a film and music panelist for the Kresge Artist Fellowships. She received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Albion College in 2006
Regina resides in Maywood, New Jersey, with her husband drummer, composer, and educator Alvester Garnett. She also volunteers as an End-of-Life Doula.