Contours

The bass intro that defines Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay (1970) wasn't Hubbard's — bassist Ron Carter invented it on the spot because Freddie never brought the part. "Luckily, the right note hit at the right time," Carter said. The hook that became the song's signature was an improvisation forced by a missing chart.

Through the CTI years, beneath Freddie Hubbard's glittering trumpet it was Ron Carter's bass holding the floor — 1970's Straight Life among them. Hubbard's last relayed message was that he was sorry he never got to tell people how many times Ron saved his ass in the studio. The star naming the sideman as his lifeline.