Many She changed the way for women period and men for black women and in the pedagogy of a jazz singer. She was born Lily made Jones in 1930 in Detroit the oldest of 3 her father died when she was 16 so she began performing to support her family the biggest musical influence in her life then with her crew of high school friends Barry Harris Kenny Burrell Tommy Flanagan and Yusef with tif as a pretty heavy batch of friends she called herself a hipster and wanted to join Dizzy Gillespie has been but she got her big break from a band leader of an earlier generation let happen came into town. At the top of the forest to play a dance and a friend of mine took me to the dance that I really didn't have a clue that he was looking for a singer but when I got to the club the kids around the bandstand asked him let me sing can still keeping life I have to listen to you sing dance and this is. Going to. Be. She joined haps man for his next gig performing under his stage name Lorraine Carter she was 19 he gave her the name very bebop because she's saying the bottom line it's singers have been scouting for years I think Sarah Vaughan even Armstrong the Betty scatting was different she transformed her voice. Then he was on and off with the model Hampton man for 2 and a half years she not only got stage time but she learned inner workings of how to run a big bear her mentor was Lionel Hampton his wife Gladys who ran the ship. By the time Betty left mammals band she had the chops and the business skills she needed for solo career she fused her name the rain Carter with hips nickname for Betty. Betty Carter was born. To. But as she said in an interview in the 1980 s. She knew she had to stand out not imitate then change this morning one of the. I mean is one good one miles one busy one bird 1011 Elvis you're wondering how can I go on and on and when I have that the one whole thing about dismissing jazz you're not allowed to image another individual. To be an available used. To be a concert this week is a salute to Barry featuring an all star band of her alumni but the big question was who could sing our part we were thinking who to get Michael Moore will so help program the show we were going around asking and I said. I think the only one really that could present to him in an individual way but of such in the spirit of Betty is publish on a wage. Sure and they decided she wanted to put her own stamp on the show and she says that she didn't even consider trying to imitate Betty but she did take a page out of Betty's book by trying something new I'm hoping that it was in the spirit I have of Betty Carter that she was happy with the fact that we were taking these kinds of risks and chances with adding tap dances and experimenting with improvisation with with the dancers How can you in to weave them into the music doing to me the sections at the same time and having 2 different musical news I don't pal it's going on at the same time yes you heard that right tap dancers and 2 rhythm sections this is open the door would show in a way and on vocals it Craig handy on tenor sax drummer Al Vesta Garnett bases Curtis Mundy The Pianist Jackie terracing Midway you hear a change in the song and that's when drummer when our Harper bases Michel Louis and piano Stephen Scott and eventually they're all playing together. Coming up on Jazz Night in America Betty Carter the pioneer. Thing is there's not one single woman who did what she did maybe. But Betty and all the men. You know. Before they're. In America. Foundation. Foundation supporting the Performing Arts the environment medical research and Child Well-Being the National Endowment for the artworks. Foundation in support of N.P.R.'s commitment to coverage of the arts and. Recognizing exceptionally creative individuals. Found org this. Welcome back to jazz night and America's look at the legacy of Betty Carter our Christian McBride. If you ever saw Bette perform live you know that along with her music her stage presence and fashion choices were all a part of the package drummer Nate Smith recalls a gig he played with Betty I mean you know I'm sure there was one maybe he thought it best showed up with. Some leather pants on and like to sweater is kind of like really bright health and he had a boat style with no collar like just the bow tie on around a neck Betty Betty Carter was unique. He had no problem making the ugliest face you ever seen just to get the most beautiful no doubt my old roommate Marc Carey played piano with Betty from 19881991 so she won one of those pretty singers and even her notes went all ways that are pretty they came from a got a little place they came from that at the core of her soul you know she would use as spotlight it was part sex appeal was a part drama dance theater she was a dancer on stage. That may explain why food has come to the Jazz Macon center sure in a way got some dancers and. She had recently worked with the Bradley sisters tap dancers Francis and Renee Halle and choreographer Mikael alertly who's a huge fan of Ben's work she just does everything she wrote these amazing songs improvise like a genius and Mikael is a child of the eighty's and ninety's so although she's a jazz head she looks at tap through a modern lens if you really look at the bot traditions you have people like the monk and dizzy speaking about tap dancing Max Roach speaking about how he's getting his millions from tattoos. So it's just like one entity. Together just as break dancing his hip hop so to speak The Trolley Song you could hear you know the interaction between a drummer and the tap dancers and it made sense the musical director Al fester going there were no artist is holding down the groove on the drum set and then the dancers are responding to what he's doing he's it's kind of like he's like the conductor of the trolley he's taken everybody and ride and they're active passengers you know they're like participating in a ride in a way it's a lot of fun this is a Trolley Song featuring we're not Harper on drums and tap dancers McCaleb or nay alley and Francis Bradley. Our. Our our the. I do. Come in contact the game played by hiring younger players who are naturally gifted but not yet fully formed Barry was able to shape them it's like being a coach going in a felony to be a drummer when our hearts players they want to play they want to leave so you open a deal play your system so you can be successful then he's lasting influence and more music from Jazz at Lincoln Center when we come back with more jazz night in America I'm Christian McBride. Support for Jazz Night in America comes from the Wyncote foundation the Argus fund the Doris Duke's charitable foundation supporting the Performing Arts the environment medical research and Child Wellbeing the National Endowment for the Arts artworks the Gilchrist foundation in support of N.P.R.'s commitment to coverage of the arts and the John d. And Catherine team MacArthur Foundation recognizing exceptionally creative individuals this year's MacArthur fellows are at mac found dot org This is n.p.r. This is jazz night in America I'm Christian McBride in 1902 Betty Carter appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno she performed with the Branford Marsalis quartet the house band and then sat down for an interview with Jay z. You know in the opening I said you have a lot of handsome young men around I do I do I do I do. What's best for you if you're young you know there are. I can imagine someone that way wishing the energy and enthusiasm and everything like that you've got a really big one but the yeah this is. The end you know whatever yeah I could get more money I think of the energy that you get and I were very very worked through 1st thing 1st thing. By that point Betty had been hiring young musicians for decades off the bandstand she gave the business advice passing on the message she learned in Manhattan's man and what she learned by starting her own production company and record label but music was the priority when r. Harper recalls how she would hold auditions in rehearsals at her house in Brooklyn and her says will be like. The long day you make a deal like 12 want to clock when you would get out till the sun was definitely down so you might not be starting back home 789 o'clock Betty had no problem calling out her musicians on the bandstand she'd stop at nothing to make sure the show was right according to pianist more Carrie most musicians I'm barest actually had some said to them oh state I learned how to accept it and she would say stuff like I feel like I'm up here baby sitting. He's only 21 he doesn't know nothing yeah yeah yeah your 1st gig you know she would say things like Dad if you play you know a series of wrong notes or chords you know it just wasn't like in time because you want paying attention and she could tell when you were thinking of something else on stage and you want connected to Betty wanted the audience to stay connected to there was one night where someone was talking loud at the table you know and Barry came out and in the middle of the trio Tunes So you know we can come on we're down here for this which changed the drama of it you know and then that lady kept talking and she says a lot of red dress and very said your mama got a red dress. Which was like you know if she was in the middle of like saying it and your mama got a red dress you immediately connected with the lady like I just never dress she just said your mama got a red dress and like the band heard it everybody else in the place heard it so it was like this moment of like Tencent. You know that was immediately released because you were right back to the melody. prior 6. Headcount. That's something you know in 1903 Betty Carter found jazz a hero in intensive a week long workshop with budding jazz musicians and she reached his shoes speaking to a group of young men comparing building a solo to say what about if you don't have it right away you build up to it don't you. Case just sell better than earlier so there's no then and everybody is happy. That that. Attention to younger musicians and her willingness to. Give to them but also listen to the drummer Nate Smith was in the 1st class of jazz ahead and was hired by very shortly after that I remember after jazz a hit she came to me and she said I know you still in school I was still in college at the time I know you still in school but the world is waiting for you like get out here play she was the 1st musician of any kind of renown to tell me. And that's a big deal let's wrap up our salute to Betty Carter with another selection from the band said this is sounds. In America comes from. The Argus fund the Doris Duke charitable foundation supporting the Performing Arts the environment medical research and Child Wellbeing the National Endowment for the Arts artworks the Robert Sterling Clark foundation to sustain N.P.R.'s coverage of Latin American cultural programming on Latino and the Gilchrist foundation in support of N.P.R.'s commitment to coverage of the arts This is n.p.r. . 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