The Jazz Project - 78: Betty Carter - "The Audience With Betty Carter"

             To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 78

Betty Carter - The Audience With Betty Carter

Drinking: Black Tea, and a glass of water with lime juice and a pinch of salt. 

Photo credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61cKVPdK7lL._SL1200_.jpg

1.  It's pretty exciting to have a live album on the list. It begins with a pulsing piano part and Betty's vocals. The piano playing is dynamic. The idea of sing about the sounds of life and the idea of sounds overall is cool. I can feel the energy of the room through this recording, it's incredible. The scat Carter employs is excellent, it feels in the moment, as her soul flows through her. The drummer rides the line of flashy and holding this explosion of sound at bay, Thankfully it has this solid bass acting as the grounding giving a montage of what's to come for the rest of the show. All that being said, it's hard to believe that this song will continue for 25 minutes. The tempo is slowly increasing as does the intensity of the music around +5:30 mark. Having grown up in the time of this song called "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop", I grew to be burnt out on scat singing. This doesn't create that vibe at all. In fact, it's quite refreshing to hear a vocalist shred over a hurtling walking bass-line and a whirlwind of piano and drums. At 8:53 we get the line "we're moving on again", and the pace drops down to a much calmer moment, elegant adjacent. It's a nice respite from the intensity of before. These moments also showcase Carter's range, which is impressive. Additionally, it makes for a good stylistic flex as far as the band's skills. The tone changes on a dime at 10:58, and the piano crashes into a much higher volume and the listener is thrown back into the rocketing speeds of before. The bass seems to rise higher into the mix, and my god does that walking bass-line fly! Impressive isn't a strong enough word. I'm excited to see where this song continues to go as it's got 13 minutes left on the shot clock. I only wish I could see Carter work the stage, as in my mind she's bouncing around the stage working the crowd as the music takes over their bodies. At 13:31 we move on to a more mid-tempo jazz groove. The phrase "we're moving on again" seems to be the band's queue to segue to the next moment. Moving from moment to moment, tempo to tempo helps keep this particular vocal style feeling fresh. Part of the power of scat is it allows the singer to become an instrument and gives the rest of the band room to work with and share the spotlight. My mind moves away from this performance to wonder what rehearsals for this song were like. Did they jam this song for 25 minutes a shot? Or is this merely a prolonged jam because they were caught up in the moment? Both are possible, especially if they're skilled. Around 18 minutes in the crowd starts clapping along, which is nice. I wish more crowds would organically clap to live music, they're as much a part of the energy as the band is. The tempo almost totally drops out at 20:10. We're crawling along letting the tension build in this beautiful moment. It wanders towards delicate, while the bass holds the groove tight. This moment holds for quite a while, and it feels like the band settling into the stage for the rest of the show, much like squirming in a big comfy chair while the opening credits roll before a movie. A just like that, at 23:03 we're punched in the gut as the song blasts back into the hyperactive speeding tempos of before as Carter sings in a long-held "we're moving on!" The crowd loses their mind and cheer the band on as they go careening to the end of the song in the final minute and a half. Truly a magic piece, and that's speaking as someone who isn't super into scat style vocals. An odyssey of sound! 
   
   
2. "I think I Got It Now": After getting the crowd whipped up with "Sounds (Movin On), we enter this slow love song. It's sultry and decadent in sound. Carter's vocal control when holding on a single note is truly magical. The piano work on this is free-flowing and gorgeous, while the bass is holding the moment together. A beautiful piece. 
   
   
3. "Caribbean Sun": This picks up the pace from before with a samba like feeling. It feels sunny and bright. Carter solos between phrases to keep the jubilant feeling flowing. The rhythm section holds the energy tight, not letting it get too frenzied. The bass work really shines here. These songs feel short after the intro, comparatively. 
   
   
4. "The Trolley Song": I wonder if this was an homage to San Francisco, where this was recorded. It seems too on the nose to be otherwise. The drums and piano paint this frenetic picture of a trolley firing up. Then the bass hurtles in and Carter fires off words with startling precision over this tempo. It's amazing how much they pack into the first 26 seconds, as at 27 the tempo slows and we have a classic jazz moment. Walking bass-line, over symbols and piano while Carter talks about getting on and riding a trolley. It's fun, with humorous moments tossed in. This band's control of tempo is astounding. At 2:38 the band hits on a trolley/city sounding moment that would best belong in a musical, as it captures the feeling of urban travel shocking well. 
   
   
5. "Everything I Have Is Yours": Another serene, slow tempo song. This group commands the energy of a show in a great way, letting it rise and fall. Carter employs her lower registers here and lets them shine. It's hard to pull myself away from this song to write, it's captivating. The piano plays with its dynamic range quite well, employing the delicate high notes, while filling space with the extreme low keys as well. The bass is fat and expansive, and the drums are just barely there holding the tempo. It's quite a picturesque moment. 
   
   
6. "I'll Buy You A Star": The tempo picks up to an upper mid-paced feeling. Carter climbs and descends her vocal range while the band swings hard underneath her. The piano gets plenty of moments to shred over the bass and drums between vocal performances. There are some odd yet functional choices Carter makes in her vocal performances. It fits the feeling of the song well. 
   
   
7. "I Could Write A Book": Opens with a swinging bass-line, and the band hops in moments later. Carter joins the procession with some scat licks and introduces the band to the crowd. The bass keeps this track in the land of head bobbing. While it's not show-stopping, it's an enjoyable moment and sometimes that's enough. I feel like these lyrics were riffed on the spot, though I have no evidence of this, my gut just thinks that's what's going on. 
   
   
8. "Can't We Talk It Over/Either It's Love Or It Isn't": This song gets an introduction from Carter, and it's a nice moment, a nice change of pace. Musically this is slow, delicate, but I wouldn't say fragile. It's like watching the sunrise try to break through clouds. The music frames Carter's voice really well, almost like it's draping itself around her to keep her warm from the cold. The piano work is excellent. This song segues into a mellower, more fragile song. Again, the music embraces Carter while she croons out the lyrics creating this somber moment. It's quite beautiful. 
   
   
9. "Deep Night": This track opens with a bounce, a classical piece in feeling. Then moments later it takes on this deep swing on the drums and we enter this swaying Jazz. Moments late we're back in that bouncing classic moment before the band once again bounces us back into that deep swinging jazz. Carter and the band seem to enjoy these quick change moments. There's a blistering solo at 0:53. It recaptures moments from "Sounds (Movin On)". I'm not in love with this track, but I'm quite intrigued by it. It fades out on the close, as much as you can fade on a live track. 
   
   
10. "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most": We open with these big bright chords on the piano. It almost sounds like colors being splashed on canvas. The atmosphere the music creates is delicate and enchanting. Conjures up memories of drizzly weather on a spring day, where the sun is trying to break free of clouds. At 2:56 there's a transition to a more traditional Jazz sound, with stirred snares and bigger "jazzier" chords. The bass player's tone is excellent. The daylight breaks through around 5:28 as the tempo picks up as does the dynamic range of Carter's voice. Those final piano chords are damn fine. 
    
    
11. "Tight": Snaps count off this intro, and we enter a mid-paced song. Another song to get your head moving. There are these nice percussive moments where each instrument (and singer) play on these beats. A third of the way in the audience so wrapped up in the moment they're clapping along with the band. I'm a big fan of the piano solo. I know it's the title of the song, but this track is tight man, it's so good. Definitely take this one in.
     
12. "Fake": The bass work here is great, and while it's not the usual walking bass, it backbones the sweeping piano shockingly well. This isn't my favorite vocal performance on the album, but it's far from bad. I'm surprised I've never heard of Betty Carter before this album, she's so talented, such a great singer. Her range is, well, I don't have the words to say beyond amazing. There's an excellent bass solo starting at 1:51. It wanders off the path for a moment there, but it quickly finds its way back. I'm glad this excellent instrument got to be in the spotlight. There are not enough bass solos out there in the land of music. 
    
    
13. "So.....": Another intro from Carter where she interacts with the audience, and it's an honest moment. I'm glad it's not peppered through the album, because it makes these moments special. It begins much like a feature film would, big, sweeping, trilling, and grandiose. It segues in and out of this with a slow samba-like piece. It makes for a bit of an odd song, but Carter's vocal performance keeps me enraptured in these moments. The piano solo in this song is excellent, as most of the solos on this album have been. 
    
    
14. "My Favorite Things": Man, what an opening! It's like listening to lightning being caught in a bottle. I'm interested in how Jazz has latched on to this song. It's left me near speechless. Like "Sounds (Movin On)" they play with the tempo, including throwing you into a jet stream at 0:56 that's rocketing towards a shooting star of favorite things ripping through the cosmos. The bass-line at 1:26 hooked me. Something about those few notes were magic. The tempo drops out again for a few bars and we return to the original tempo from the intro. The music crescendos up in volume before kicking us back into the blistering moments. I can't go further without giving the drummer some serious credit, this playing is astronomically good. What a performance! Do not miss this track. 
    
    
15. "Open The Door": This song bossa novas hard. It's hard not to get wrapped up in that bassline and miss the elegant piano playing or Carter's singing. The change at around 1:59 spices up the number even more. This is an interesting song to close on, I think I would have swapped this with "My Favorite Things" and finish the album as hot as you opened it. Perhaps there was a good reason for the order, who knows? What a delightful track! 

Overall Thoughts: This was a memorable album, and one that I want to track down for my collection. It stands up whether you look at it as a regular album and even more so when you look at it as a live album. In a live setting, there are so many variables, and it makes for an amazing product when it all happens. I feel speechless when taking in my thoughts on this album because it truly was a humbling and enjoyable experience. Check it out ASAP! 

Info: This album was recorded over between December 6th and December 8th, 1979 in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall. It was released on Betty Carter's own record label Bet-Car and produced by Betty Carter. It features Betty Carter on vocals, John Hicks on piano, Curtis Lundy on double bass, Kenny Washington on drums. 

If you loved this album you can pick it up here!