Drummer, vocalist, and composer Bryan Carter released his rendition of the Burt Bacharach & Carol Beyer Seger-penned composition “Making Love.” The song is the third single from Carter’s upcoming LP I Believe, due out June 2022 via La Reserve Records. Jazziz called the song “Quote.”

With fearless storytelling and breathtaking musicality, “Making Love” is the next chapter in Carter’s semi-autobiographical, coming out and coming of age LP I Believe. It is hard to wrap your mind around just how many roles Carter is playing. He is singing. He is drumming. He is orchestrating for a full band, complete with a gorgeous, ten-piece string section. And all of it is in service of his storytelling. In addition to his career as a solo artist, Bryan is active as a performer, composer, arranger and music director in the world of film/television, working with pop icons like Nick Jonas, Steve Martin, Jimmy Fallon & Tina Fey, Martin Short & Maya Rudolph, and on series like Live with Kelly and Ryan, HBO Music Box, and Sesame Street.  
With “Making Love,” Carter captures the vulnerability, both exhilarating and frightening, inherent in a first relationship. “I’m embarrassed to hold your hand, I feel uncomfortable,” Carter says, expounding on the song’s message. “Yes, I like you, I have feelings for you, but there’s all this baggage that I still carry, cause it’s so new to me that, like, this feels wrong. A lesser known song from Burt Bacharach & Carol Beyer Seger, “Making Love” was composed as the title track for the film of the same name — Making Love was one of the first studio produced films that dealt with the topic of homosexuality. 

“‘There’s more to love, I know, than making love,’” Carter continues, reciting the lyric. “It’s more than just the hookup. How do I have a normal socialized relationship with this person? How do I learn to hold their hand at dinner in the park? Can I kiss them in the park? Is that okay? Is someone going to say something? I think that’s what that song is about.”

“Making Love” is a showcase for Carter’s grand sense of vision, a key feature of his upcoming LP I Believe. It’s music and storytelling done on a scale few can execute, let alone imagine, and Carter does it all. “My chief principle thing that I wanna do is — I’m a storyteller,” he reflects. “I think that music, and jazz specifically, are a vehicle for me to tell a story. And I don’t see stories like this in jazz being told, so I think it’s really, really important that we nail it and tell it the right way.”

Bryan is also active in the world of theater, having worked with Broadway Stars like Tituss Burgess, Laura Osnes, Gavin Creel, Aaron Tveit & Ariana DeBose, and as an orchestrator he’s currently working on several projects including a new show coming to Broadway next fall. 

Photo Courtesy: Colton Williams