Versatility abounds at The 1982 Montreal Jazz Festival with “What A Little Moonlight Can Do.” As Carmen McRae once said, “”There’s really only one jazz singer—only one: Betty Carter.”
Betty Carter is something of an acquired taste, largely owing to her fondness for ‘scat singing’ … which is also an acquired taste. Most folks either end up loving scat or hating it, but if you love it no one did it better, not even Ella. Well-l-l, maybe it’s a tie because each is so unique. Where Ella scat sings like a horn player, Carter thinks like a rhythm section and scats more like a bass player. (Below left) “Blue Moon” takes us back to France in 1968 and a younger Betty heading up The Betty Carter Trio with The Boy Edgar Orchestra. Cees Slinger played piano, Jacques Schols bass, and John Engels was on drums. (Below right) “What’s New” is another stellar performance from The 1982 Montreal Jazz Festival, featuring a most memorable Betty Carter bringing the lyrics to life, Khalid Moss on piano, Lewis Nash playing drums and Curtis Lundy on the bass.
In 1998, Betty Carter wowed The Nice Jazz Festival with her inimitable style and the Rodgers and Hart standard, “Isn’t It Romantic.” The festival was held in July and she left us merely two months later in September.
