JP Carter trumpet
“Mr. Carter comes from the improvised music scene of Vancouver, British Columbia, and he in particular went beyond his boundaries, often steering the overall sound. At the songs’ shallow ends he played pure, strong melody, but later he turned toward dark, clear subtones, the kind of thing the free-jazz musician Bill Dixon might have played if he’d been in this group, feeding his own sound, and sometimes the whole band’s, through echo and delay pedals. At one point he played an entire abstract unaccompanied solo, making a cloud of huge, sculptured resonance.” –The New York Times
“JP Carter is like the Kevin Shields of trumpet players…epic and weird and amazing.” –Brooklyn Vegan
JP Carter (Destroyer, Fond of Tigers, Inhabitants) combines innovative intuitive utilization of effects, amplification, extended techniques, and traditional playing to craft his sound on the trumpet, creating a massive sonic vocabulary that is ever evolving.
JP’s extensive discography totals over 100 recordings, and is an excellent reflection of his diverse musical interests. He’s played on Juno award-winning albums by Dan Mangan, Fond Of Tigers, and Alpha Yaya Diallo, and recorded with artists such as Mary Margaret O’Hara, Marc Ribot, Siskiyou, The N.O.W. Society, Mother Mother, Handmade Blade (w. guitarist Aram Bajakian & cellist Peggy Lee), Frazey Ford, Nicholas Krgovich, saxophonist Michael Blake, guitarist Tony Wilson, Great Aunt Ida, Gordon Grdina’s HARAM, among many more.
JP joined the band Destroyer in 2010, adding his effected horn to the critically-acclaimed album Kaputt. Kaputt was listed at #2 on Pitchfork’s Best 50 Albums of 2011, and #22 on their 200 Best Albums of the 2010s. Spin Magazine made special mention of his contribution to the record in the closing sentence of their 2011 album review:
“JP Carter’s muted trumpet steals the show, like a Greek chorus whispering in your ear”.
JP continues to play and record with Destroyer, touring the world in support of the albums Kaputt (2011), Poison Season (2015), Ken (2017), and Have We Met (2020).
A prolific improviser, JP is involved as a curator at the 8EAST performance space in Vancouver, which is an initiative of the New Orchestra Workshop, and a hub for improvised music in the city. He was also a long-time member of the 1067 music collective, and co-curated (along with drummer Skye Brooks) the Parallelatuesdays weekly improvised music series at the (sugar refinery) in the early 2000s. JP has shared the stage with many prominent musicians and improvisers, including Mary Halvorson, Dave Douglas, Trevor Dunn, Anthony Braxton, Wayne Horvitz, Nicole Mitchell, Steve Beresford, Butch Morris, Robin Holcomb, Dylan van der Schyff, Lee Ranaldo, Darius Jones, Ingrid Laubrock, Tyshawn Sorey, Torsten Müller, Wolfgang Fuchs, and Mats Gustafsson.
JP’s main work as a performer/composer are the improvising acoustic Aeroplane Trio, the Juno-nominated psychedelic jazz rock quartet Inhabitants, and Carsick, an atmospheric duo with guitarist David Sikula. All three groups have albums released on the Drip Audio label. Most recently, JP released a self-produced document of his ongoing solo work with trumpet & amplifier entitled Toy & Tool.
Contact: jpcarter.music@gmail.com
JP Carter 