FOXBOROUGH - Patriots defensive end Andre Carter, dressed in black, quietly enters the movie theater lobby and sits behind a baby grand piano.
The day after he set the franchise record for sacks in a game (4 ½) in a 37-16 rout of the Jets, Carter stretches his long, bony fingers, four of which have been dislocated during his 11-year NFL career. After a false start, he bangs out a soulful version of Miles Davis’s classic composition, “So What?,’’ without the benefit of sheet music.
Nobody in the Showcase Cinema de Lux at Patriot Place recognizes the talk of the town. Carter is not nearly as well-known as nose tackle Vince Wilfork and his wife, Bianca, who are at the theater taking in a matinee of “Jack and Jill’’ on an off day.
“I’m into jazz,’’ says Carter, 32. “I love Miles Davis.’’
The Patriots’ signing of Carter didn’t receive the same fanfare as the arrivals of Chad Ochocinco or Carter’s former Redskins teammate, Albert Haynesworth, but it has proven significant. Carter is tied for fourth in the NFL with nine sacks and has a total of 38 tackles. He never takes a play off.
As for his career day at MetLife Stadium, he says, “I’m still on Cloud 9,’’ before quickly giving credit to his teammates for pressuring Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.
“It was special because we put together four quarters. We just played hard, we played fast.’’
The 6-foot-4-inch, 255-pound Colorado native has been playing piano a decade longer than he has played football. His mother encouraged him to take piano lessons when he was 5 years old.
“My mom made sure I practiced so that I wouldn’t make a fool out of myself when the piano teacher came on Saturday,’’ he says. “I loved it and I got good at it.’’
Asked the difference between a pianist and a defensive lineman, Carter, whose second selection for the cinema crowd is Bruce Hornsby’s “[That’s Just] The Way It Is,’’ says both require good hands.
“Piano is more at peace, D-lineman is more violent,’’ he says. “If you don’t have good hands, you won’t get to the quarterback.’’
His father, Ruben Carter, was a defensive lineman for the fabled Orange Crush Bronco teams from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s. He wanted a kinder, gentler life for Andre.
“My dad didn’t want me to play football because it was a violent sport,’’ he says. “He wanted me to play tennis or basketball.
“I remember him coming home hurt. My mom wanted me to be a model. She’d say, ‘Look at your figure, you’ve got a nice figure.’ But that ain’t going to happen, mom.’’
Carter was in the locker room and on the field as a kid, but he was quiet, almost too shy to shake John Elway’s hand.
But in 10th grade, he finally signed up for his high school football team.
