The Music Never Stops
| The Music Never Stops | ||||
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| Live album by Betty Carter | ||||
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| Label (s) | Blue Engine Records | |||
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2LP, 2CD |
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Title (number) |
13 |
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The Music Never Stops is a live album by jazz singer Betty Carter . The recording was made in New York's Aaron Davis Hall on March 29, 1992 and was released on March 29, 2019 on the Blue Engine label . It is the first posthumous publication with material from the singer, who died in 1998.
background
The album documents the appearance of the then 63-year-old singer in New York's Aaron Davis Hall in the Jazz at Lincoln Center program in 1992, in which Carter appeared with three different trios, a full jazz orchestra with her long-time pianist John Hicks and a string section. The small jazz ensemble consisted of Geri Allen and Cyrus Chestnut on piano, Ariel Roland on double bass and Gregory Hutchinson and Clarence Penn on drums. In the big band played Lew Soloff , Earl Gardner , Ron Tooley and Kamau Adilifu (trumpets), Art Baron , Robin Eubanks and Joe Randazzo (Trombones) Jerry Dodgion and Rick Forest (alto sax), Alex Foster and Lou Marini (tenor saxophone), Joe Temperley (Baritone saxophone), John Hicks (piano), Lisle Atkinson (double bass) and Kenny Washington (drums). The string ensemble consisted of Jeanne LeBlanc , Akua Dixon , Julie Green and Bruce Wang (cello) as well as John Beal and Dave Finck (double bass).
In his liner notes for the album, Wynton Marsalis ( Jazz at Lincoln Center ) notes that Carter funded the concert with her US $ 20,000 prize money, which she received as a NEA Jazz Master (then known as the American Jazz Masters Fellowship ). The publication took place in collaboration of the Jazz at Lincoln Center with the R. Theodore Ammon Archives and Music Library and Wynton Marsalis.
Track list
- Betty Carter: The Music Never Stops (Blue Engine Records - BE0014)
- Ms. BC (Pamela Watson, arrangement: Bobby Watson ) 3:10 - Big Band (without Betty Carter), soloists Alex Foster (tenor saxophone), Kamau Adilifu (trumpet)
- Make It Last ( Dick Haymes , arrangement: Melba Liston ) 5:45 - Big Band, strings
- 30 Years (Betty Carter) 4:35 - with Cyrus Chestnut (piano), Ariel Roland (double bass), Greg Hutchinson (drums)
- Why Him? ( Burton Lane & Alan Jay Lerner ) / Where Or When ( Lorenz Hart & Richard Rodgers ) / What's New? ( Bob Haggart & Johnny Burke ) 15:46 - dto.
- Tight! / Mr. Gentleman (Betty Carter) 4:32 - dto.
- Social Call ( Basheer Qusim & Jon Hendricks , arrangement: Gigi Gryce) 2:29 - Big Band, soloist: Lou Marini (tenor saxophone)
- Moonlight in Vermont (John M, Blackburn & Karl Suessdorf) 4:32 - Big Band
- The Good Life ( Sacha Distel , Jean Broussolle & Jack Reardon ) 5:47 - with Cyrus Chestnut (piano), Ariel Roland (double bass), Greg Hutchinson (drums)
- Bridges (Betty Carter) 9:30 - dto.
- If I Should Lose You ( Leo Robin & Ralph Rainger ) 6:47 - with Geri Allen (piano)
- Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love ( Cole Porter ) 4:27 - with Cyrus Chestnut (piano), Ariel Roland (double bass), Greg Hutchinson (drums)
- Make Him Believe (Betty Carter) 5:26 - with Cyrus Chestnut (piano), string ensemble, Geri Allen (conductor)
- Frenesi (Alberto Dominguez & Leonard Whitcup, arrangement Gigi Gryce) 3:14 - Big Band
reception
In a contemporary concert review for The New York Times in 1992, critic Stephen Holden wrote:
- “During the ninety-minute non-stop event, the singer and her musicians tried to keep the music going right through to Ms. Carter's singing introductions and moving on to most of the choices. Although she paused once or twice to speak, the music was largely unbroken. The idea of musical continuity gave the evening a natural sense of thematic ebb and flow, with songs about farewells forming an expressive core. ”[…]“ One reason Ms. Carter, who is 63 years old, is probably better than any other leader A jazz singer of her generation who is able to improvise with a big band is that her phrasing and intonation are so purely instrumental. Nobody shapes a note like her, slowly transforming it from a rich horn-like timbre into something biting and then making it softer again. "
- "During the intermission-less 90-minute event, the singer and her musicians attempted to keep the music continuous, right down to Ms. Carter's singing the introductions and segues to most of the selections. Although she did pause once or twice to make remarks, the music was for the most part unbroken. The idea of musical continuity gave the evening a natural sense of thematic ebb and flow, with songs about goodbyes forming an expressive nucleus. " [...] " One reason Ms. Carter, who is 61 years old, is probably better equipped than any other leading jazz singer of her generation to improvise with a big band is that her phrasing and intonation are so purely instrumental in sound. Nobody shapes a note the way she does, slowly turning it from a rich hornlike timbre into something bitingly twangy, then softening it again. "
For the jury, which included the album in the quarterly list of the German Record Critics ' Prize, Werner Stiefele wrote in the explanation: “In a concert on March 29, 1992 in New York's Lincoln Center, Betty Carter shone with great scats , and she articulated the text-bound passages each syllable with due weight. Life experience and wisdom can be heard from every song - and the serene sense of humor of a singer who, despite her class, was never able to achieve superstar status. Accompanied by big band, combo and strings, Betty Carter creates closeness, at the same time she remains loyal to her stage role as a mature, older woman who is above life's perils without the slightest hint of ingratiation. A highlight of the art of singing. "
In Rondo , Stiefele continued, "Her accompanying musicians Geri Allen, Greg Hutchinson and Clarence Penn as well as Cyrus Chestnut gave them space, they support them, they set accents, create breaks and underline them very attentively." The big band arrangements for the singer and musicians are similarly perfect coordinated their texts. "For them, restrained pastel tones were written that put Betty Carter's voice in changing soundscapes and combine ostensible restraint with varied sound design." This even turns a very frequently interpreted song like "Moonlight In Vermont" into "a longing contemplation of a landscape". With the twelve song titles "Betty Carter creates closeness on the one hand, and yet she remains loyal to her stage role as a mature, older woman who is above the perils of life without the slightest hint of ingratiation."
The author of JazzTimes magazine noted that Betty Carter's first publication of previously unheard music in almost 30 years was “more than a welcome addition” to her discography. The Music Never Stops fills a crucial chapter in the singer's late career and documents Carter in her most ambitious form. One of the highlights of the recording is the author Carter's vocal performance in Melba Liston's arrangement of “Make It Last” for orchestra and strings. “She changes gears with exquisite calibration in an extended, questioning medley of 'Why He?', 'Where or When?' and 'What's New?', supported by their young protégés Cyrus Chestnut , Ariel Roland and Gregory Hutchinson . "
For Marc Myers, the highlights of the recording are Carter's own composition "Tight!", Which she presented on her 1974 album Betty Carter ; a casual “Social Call” (by Basheer Qusim and Jon Hendricks), Carter's own ballad “Make Him Believe” and Dick Haymes' ballad “Make It Last”. Limiting Myers notes that Carter often renders the songs too fast that take a little longer (like " Moonlight in Vermont " and " Frenesi "), and her groaning vocals can become tiresome for the listener when she throws songs like that . "But once you get used to her voice as an instrument, you'll find that her voice had a beautiful sound and that every song has been remarkably reinvented."
In Jazz thing, Rolf Thomas praises her performance of the ballad “If I Should Lose You”, only accompanied by Geri Allen on the piano. “Carter, who has delighted and inspired countless musicians, glides smoothly but always challengingly through a program of exquisite standards such as“ Moonlight In Vermont ”and breakneck originals such as“ Bridges ”or“ Tight! ”, Which show the full range of their expressive possibilities to lead". It is nice, sums up the car, "that an artist like Betty Carter, who has allowed only few compromises in her career, is brought back to the general mind through such a publication."
Nate Chinen quotes trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in his article for National Public Radio , who recalled Cater:
- “She gathered three trios and a big band on a stage, jumping back and forth between the different ensembles, switching seamlessly and effortlessly between fiery bebop , heartfelt ballads, and original material in a way that cannot be described. She carried these musicians with them in their endurance. "
Web links
- Betty Carter - The Music Never Stops on Allmusic (English). Retrieved September 14, 2019.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c For Betty Carter, 'The Music Never Stops' - Even 27 Years Later. NPR, May 6, 2019, accessed September 7, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Werner Stiefele: The Music Never Stops - Betty Carter. Rondo, May 6, 2019, accessed on September 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Betty Carter: The Music Never Stops at Discogs
- ↑ a b Jordannah Elizabeth: New Betty Carter album arrives 27 years after original performance. Amsterdam News, March 7, 2019, accessed September 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Best list 3-2019 of the German Record Critics' Prize
- ^ Betty Carter: The Music Never Stops (Blue Engine) - A review of the first unheard music from the late vocalist in nearly 30 years. JazzTimes, April 19, 2019, accessed September 7, 2019 .
- ^ Marc Myers: Music Never Stops. All About Jazz, April 16, 2019, accessed September 7, 2019 .
- ^ Rolf Thomas: Betty Carter: The Music Never Stops. Jazz thing, July 22, 2019, accessed September 7, 2019 .