Betty Carter Unplugged

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.

The Torme Touch

Although Mel Torme spent most of his career as a singer, he was also a drummer, pianist, arranger, author and prolific song writer.  Since the age of 4, when he made his first stage appearance, and for the next 60 years, he entertained worldwide audiences with a unique, finely tuned voice that earned him the nickname of “The Velvet Fog” … much to his chagrin.  As you listen to his renditions of A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square (L) and When Sunny Gets Blue (R) you’ll have to form your own opinion about smoooth.

Sorry, no scat singing this time. If you want to hear ‘scat’ just follow this link to our March 31, 2017 post with Mel Torme and Buddy Rich as they blow the lid off the place!  I’ve moved my 1989 interview with Mel from our Jazz Scene Podcasts page to this week’s post so you can enjoy it below.

Presenting Mel Torme

by Fred Masey | Podcast #009

Her Honey-Coated Voice

Nancy Wilson was a singer and occasional actress whose career spanned over five decades, from the mid-1950s until her retirement in early 2010.  During her performing career, she was called a singer, a consummate actress and “the complete entertainer.”  The title she preferred, however, was “song stylist”.  She received many nicknames including “Sweet Nancy”, “The Baby”, “Fancy Miss Nancy” and “The Girl With the Honey-Coated Voice.”  Proof positive of those laurels can be found in the performances below, as you listen to Nancy’s tender rendition of For Once In My Life and her energetic 1998 serenade of Quincy Jones at his 50th birthday tribute with the Ellington/Russell tune Do Nothin’ ‘Til You Hear From Me.

She walked into my studio wearing a floor length, white ermine coat.  It was real.  So was she.  Nancy Wilson was known as a singer’s singer, boasting more than 70 albums and 3 Grammy Awards.  While she has been recognized for her excellence in blues, jazz, R&B, pop and soul, for my money her greatest strength lies with jazz.  Nancy is “the complete entertainer”.  Here’s an interview from a few years back you can also find, along with many others, on our Jazz Scene Podcast page.

Meet Nancy Wilson

by Fred Masey | Podcast 005

Another Auld Lang Syne

Since our first posts back in 2017, Mark Of Jazz has treated entrance into the New Year nostalgically, even reverently.   With the current state of the world so uncertain and more than a little hectic, I thought we could all use a few gentler moments to ring in 2023.

In the video, Diana Krall quietly wonders What Are You Doing New Years Eve … while you can close your eyes and see the snowy evening and crackling fire as Ray Charles tries to make the case for Betty Carter to stick around because, Baby It’s Cold Outside

Baby It's Cold Outside

by Ray Charles & Betty Carter | Ray Charles and Betty Carter

Finally I have brought my Days Of Auld Lang Syne podcast forward from our Jazz Scene Podcast page. Auld Lang Syne is a song we all know and nearly always sing to say goodbye to the old year and welcome in the new … but what do those words mean?  It’s a jazzy adventure that answers questions about the tune that has played with people’s heads for generations.  Speaking of generations, we even have a nostalgic visit with Fay Wray … the lady who monkeyed around with that big ape in the ORIGINAL 1933 classic King Kong!

Here’s wishing you a HAPPY, HEALTHY and PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR … and hoping that you thoroughly enjoy our little MOJ celebration!

Days Of Auld Lang Syne

by Fred Masey | Jazz Scene Podcast

We Need A Little Christmas

‘Tis the season to be snowy!  New York Voices is the Grammy Award winning vocal ensemble renowned for their excellence in jazz and the art of group singing. Like the great groups that came before, such as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Singers Unlimited, Manhattan Transfer and, of course, The Four Freshmen, they have learned from the best and taken their musical form to new levels.  I couldn’t resist adding some visuals to their marvelous rendition of the Sammy Cahn – Jule Styne tune, Let It Snow … written in July 1945!

Marshmallow World may not be jazz, but it is definitely Christmas … and these two characters are definitely Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra (in a 1967 TV special).

Finally, I have brought The Christmas Show forward from our Jazz Scene Podcast page.  May you enjoy every minute of this musical Christmas card and have the Merriest of all Christmases with the ones you love!

The Christmas Show

by Fred Masey | Jazz Scene Podcast

Joe Williams and Count Basie Together

On March 20, 1981 the great Joe Williams joined the Count Basie Orchestra for a star-studded concert in New York at Carnegie Hall, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Basie’s illustrious career.  Also on board were Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett and George Benson.  The concert later became a television special and eventually a performance DVDGoing To Chicago Blues is one of three songs Joe contributed to the performance that evening.  Posting the audio cut of Smack Dab In The Middle from his album The Greatest – Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards, was irresistible.  I double dog dare you to keep your feet still!

C-Jam Blues – Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington

Sometimes referred to as “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century.  She first met Duke Ellington in the mid-1930’s, while she was performing at Harlem’s legendary Savoy Ballroom with Chick Webb and His Orchestra. The two would remain friends and collaborators for the rest of their lives.  Here, Duke and Ella team up to perform Ellington’s C-Jam Blues (also known as “Duke’s Place”) during their 1966 European tour.

A Tony Bennett Christmas

After Tony Bennett’s recent retirement form a stellar career spanning more than half-a-century, here are two Christmas-themed performances I’d like to share with you from one of his three or four ‘primes’ … as well as an interview with Tony from my Jazz Scene Podcast page.  In 1989 I had the pleasure of peeling back a couple of outer layers and speaking with him about more than just his music.

The first video is a typically smooth Bennett blend of I Love The Winter Weather and I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm from A Family Christmas.  Then Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, together with the Count Basie Orchestra, from A Swingin’ Christmas, moves us just a bit closer to the big day when the jolly old elf himself makes his rounds.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Big name?  No.      Big sound? It’s the Marines!    This is The Third Marine Aircraft Wing Band with,    It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.

The Muppets probably aren’t found in any jazz lexicon but they are as full of Christmas joy and spirit as Old St. Nick himself! They undeniably help make this The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

Carmen McRae In Montreal

Carmen McRae is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, mostly remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretation of lyrics. In other words, when she sang a song, she owned it. The videos below were recorded in 1988 at the International Jazz Festival in Montreal, reputed to be the largest jazz festival on the planet.

 

Of all the songs composed by Thelonious Monk, ‘Round Midnight may be the prettiest melody Monk ever wrote. Carmen sings both the original Jon Hendricks and later Bernie Hanighen lyrics … accompanied by Eric Gunnison on piano, Scott Collie bass, Marc Police playing drums and Clifford Jordan [“Blowing his brains out”] on tenor sax. The Warren & Dubin standard I only Have Eyes For You features the same group but with McRae accompanying herself on piano.