Benny Carter

About

Award-winning jazz musician, recipient of the 1968 NEA Jazz Masters Award and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987.

Before Fame

He was mostly self-taught and collaborated with a wide variety of musicians before gaining notoriety in Harlem.

Trivia

He taught workshops and seminars at many schools, including Harvard and Princeton University.

Family Life

He married his first wife in 1925, but she died from pneumonia soon after; the next three ended in divorce. He and his fifth wife, Hilma Ollila Arons, married in 1979.

Associated With

One of Duke Ellington's trumpeters was Carter's primary source of inspiration when he was growing up and developing his talents.