Jozell Carter

Drummer, Percussionist

Inducted into the Indianapolis Jazz Hall of Fame in 2026

Jozell S. Carter

(September 19, 1942 – June 20, 2004)

Jozell S. Carter was born in Buffalo, New York, where he was affectionately known as "Billy." The second son of the late John Carter and Renetta (Carter) Watkins, he is remembered as a man of great talent and character. Part of a formidable musical family, Carter was a cousin of legendary saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. and drummer “Mad” Harold Cardwell.

Carter was a drummer and recording artist known for a hard-driving, take-charge signature style. Throughout his career, his versatility was frequently praised by the press. In his early years in Buffalo, he performed under the name Billy Blake—a nickname his daughter happily believes reflected the "pretty boy percussionist."

Jozell began on trumpet as a child before switching to drums. By the late 1950s, he was performing across the Midwest with the Four Clefs, a jazz quartet featuring his cousin, Grover Washington Jr. After the group split in the early 1960s, Carter worked with vibraphonist Billy Wooten. He made his first known appearance in Indianapolis in 1966 at the Hub-Bub jazz club with Wooten.

Carter returned to the Hub-Bub in 1968 as the drummer for Johnny Lytle, with whom he spent the next several years touring and recording. During this time, he performed alongside a "Who’s Who" of icons, including Dionne Warwick, Redd Foxx, The Sylvers, Lonnie Smith, Jack McDuff, Billy Paul, Groove Holmes, and Charles Earland.

In 1972, Carter was featured on Lytle’s landmark soul-jazz release The Soulful Rebel, appearing alongside an all-star cast including Ron Carter and Ray Barretto. He also appeared on Lytle's 1973 LP, People & Love.

By the mid-1970s, Carter had settled in "Naptown." In 1975, he joined the funk band Energy Crisis, featuring Boola Ball, Hank Hankerson, and Baby Leon. In 1979, he performed on Billy Wooten’s independently released LP In This World. Featuring prominent local musicians such as Steve Weakley, Oliver Nelson Jr., and Jonathan Wood, the album has since attained cult-classic status; original copies sell for hundreds of dollars, and it has been reissued multiple times in Japan.

As his career advanced, Carter’s talent shifted toward high-level commercial work and recordings across various genres. He performed throughout North America, sharing the stage with jazz legends including Bob Cranshaw, Jimmy Smith, and Jimmy Coe. While his influence spanned the continent, Carter built his most lasting legacy in Indianapolis. He was a pillar of the local scene, most notably as the rhythmic heartbeat of the quintet small Talk, which featured Gary Walters, Clifford Ratliff, David Young, and Jim Albrecht.

For 23 years, Jozell served the public at the Indiana State Museum. Many fondly remember him as a man of two worlds: by day, the dedicated security officer protecting the state’s archives; by night, the powerful force lighting up the city's nightlife from behind his kit.

Jozell never forgot a face or a place. He was truly at home wherever there was good music, good food, and great people. Though he is deeply missed, his lifelong love of music and his connection to the community live on in the "musical souls" of everyone he touched.