An American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most recorded bassists in jazz history. He is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that instrument.

He came to fame via the second great Miles Davis Quintet in the early 1960s, which also included Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams. He joined Davis's group in 1963, appearing on the album Seven Steps to Heaven and the follow-up E.S.P. He stayed with Davis until 1968, when he was replaced by Dave Holland, and participated in a couple of studio sessions with Davis in 1969 and 1970. Although he played electric bass occasionally during this period, he has subsequently eschewed that instrument entirely and now plays only acoustic bass.

He also performed on some of Hancock's, Williams' and Shorter's recordings during the 1960s for Blue Note Records.

After leaving Davis, Carter was for several years a mainstay of CTI Records, making albums under his own name and also appearing on many of the label's records with a diverse range of other musicians. Notable musical partnerships in the 1970s and 1980s included Joe Henderson. During the 1970s he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet.