Reprinted from: Jazz Track 9/27/98, by Drew Wheeler

Betty Carter, one of the most innovative and influential vocalists in jazz history, died at age 68 of pancreatic cancer on Sept. 26.

From her first appearances in the late 1940s with Betty Carter Lionel Hampton--who nicknamed her "Betty Bebop"--Carter stood apart from other jazz singers, with an unusual approach to melody and intonation that would be her vocal signature. Hampton's monicker was apt, in that Carter seemed to embody the quirkily imaginative, virtuoso spirit of the bebop musician, especially in her idiosyncratic, unpredictable improvisations.

But Carter broke extra-musical boundaries as well, when she formed her own record label, Bet-Car Records in the early '70s--a rare step for a woman jazz musician. Over the years, Carter's employ has been a launching pad (or at least booster stage) for the careers of such pianists as Cyrus Chestnut, Benny Green, Stephen Scott, Mulgrew Miller and Geri Allen. And to propel more jazz artists forward, Carter initiated the Jazz Ahead program in 1993, to cultivate the talents of the most promising young jazz artists in the country.

Born Lillie Mae Jones in Flint, Mich. May 16, 1930, Carter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory of Music and got some singing gigs in Detroit in the 1940s. When her Hampton stint ended in 1951, she moved to New York and further developed her offbeat vocal style. In subsequent years, Carter recorded with such artists as Gigi Gryce, Ray Bryant, Benny Golson, Melba Liston, Oliver Nelson, Wynton Kelly, Harold Mabern and many others. She had recorded for the Capitol, Epic, ABC and Peacock labels before she founded Bet-Car. For a period in the mid-'60s, Carter severely limited her musical career and devoted herself to the raising of her sons.

Some of Carter's most acclaimed albums include her debut Meet Betty Carter And Ray Bryant, reissued by Columbia/Legacy; The Modern Sound Of Betty Carter and Out There, reissued as I Can't Help It on GRP/Impulse!; Look What I Got and Feed The Fire on Verve; and The Audience With Betty Carter, which was originally released on Bet-Car, but was reissued by Verve. Carter won a Grammy award in 1988 as Best Female Jazz Vocalist, and in 1997 President Clinton presented her with the National Medal Of Arts award. She is survived by her sons Myles and Kagle Redding.

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