Remembering Betty Carter (1929-1998)

Betty Carter, (May 16, 1929, Flint, Michigan, United States – September 26, 1998, Brooklyn, New York, United States), grew up in Detroit singing in clubs and accompanying bebop musicians who visited that populous city.

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Thus he had the fortune of performing in front of Dizzy Gillespie or Charlie Parker himself. He followed in the footsteps of Dinah Washington and joined Lionel Hampton’s band in 1948. By then, Betty Carter, was using the stage name Lorraine Carter and it would be the same vibraphonist who suggested that she change the name to which she is known worldwide and which was due to the nickname by which she was known in the artistic world: “Betty Bop”

Betty Carter left Lionel Hampton’s band in 1951 and decided to start her singing career alone. A recording made in 1961 as a duet with Ray Charles, both supported by a big band, remains one of the highlights of his career. With his way of singing, he managed to reach beyond the jazz audience, but after an almost deserted period in terms of recordings, in the seventies he resumed his career by forming his own trio and founded his own record company: «Bet-Car Records».

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In the eighties and with a fair reputation as an extraordinary singer, she was accepted on both sides of the Atlantic and in Japan she was almost revered. His style, based on improvisation, became a hallmark of his music and was rightly highly valued. Leading his trio, he recorded great albums in his last years with the best jazz instrumentalists.

Meet Betty Carter and Ray Bryant (full album, 1955)

Betty Carter recorded the first album under her name in 1955 with pianist Ray Bryant. He already demonstrated that his commitment to the African American movement was as sincere and as intense as bebop, the music that gave rise to the Black Power movement.

Personnel:

Recorded May 13, 1955, New York City, New York, USA:

Betty Carter - vocals
Ray Bryant - piano
Jerome Richardson - flute (on tracks 6, 9, 11)
Wendell Marshall - double bass
Philly Joe Jones (or possibly Jo Jones, personnel listings are inconsistent) - drums

Track listing (original LP release)

"Sneaking Around" (Ray Bryant) – 3:16
"Moonlight in Vermont" (John Blackburn, Karl Suessdorf) – 3:23
"What Is This Thing Called Love?" (Cole Porter) – 2:52
"Thou Swell" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 1:40
"Willow Weep for Me" (Ann Ronell) – 3:34
"I Could Write a Book" (Hart, Rodgers) – 2:37
"Threesome" (Ray Bryant) – 2:44
"Gone with the Wind" (Herbert Magidson, Allie Wrubel) – 4:10
"Old Devil Moon" (Yip Harburg, Burton Lane) – 3:59
"The Way You Look Tonight" (Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern) – 2:41
"No Moon at All" (Redd Evans, David Mann) – 2:51
"Can't We Be Friends?" (Paul James, Kay Swift) – 2:25

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