William Thomas "Keter" Betts (July 22, 1928 – August 6, 2005) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

double bassist.

Early life and education

Born in

Port Chester, New York Port Chester is a village in the U.S. state of New York and the largest part of the town of Rye in Westchester County by population. At the 2010 U.S. census, the village of Port Chester had a population of 28,967 and was the fifth-most popul ...

, he was nicknamed "Keter", a short form of the word mosquito. He graduated from Port Chester High School in 1946, where he played drums, tympani, tuba, glockenspiel, and bass fiddle.

Career

Many better-known musicians, such as

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, i ...

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

Nat Adderley Nathaniel Carlyle Adderley (November 25, 1931 – January 2, 2000) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, whom he supported and played with for many years. Adderley's composition ...

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

Charlie Byrd Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album '' Jazz Samba'', ...

and others, recognizing Betts's talent, invited him to perform with them professionally. He was a member of Earl Bostic's R&B band from April 1949 to August 1951. Accompanied Dinah Washington/December 1951 to October 1956. He later became a member of the Charlie Byrd Trio in 1957. In 1962, he was instrumental in introducing the

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

style to American audiences via their '' Jazz Samba'' recording. He worked with Bobby Timmons and recorded an album in 1964 before joining

as an accompanist in October of that year. He toured with Fitzgerald as a bassist for many years after. He left Fitzgerald's band and worked with Roberta Flack, Joe Williams, Johnny Hartman, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Mann, Billy Eckstine, and Chris Connor. He rejoined Fitzgerald in December 1971 and remained with her until her retirement.

Personal life

A widowed father of five children, Betts resided in the Washington, D.C., area for more than a half century. He died of a heart attack at his home in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, in practice it is an edge cit ...

, in August 2005.

Selected discography

As Leader * ''Bass, Buddies & Blues'' (Keter Betts Music, 1998) * ''Bass, Buddies, Blues & Beauty Too'' (Keter Betts Music, 1999) * ''Live at the East Coast Jazz Festival'' (Keter Betts Music, 2000) With Clifford Brown * ''

Jam Session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ext ...

'' ( EmArcy, 1954) with

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often serv ...

and

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

With

* ''Blues for Night People'' (1957) * '' Byrd's Word!'' ( Riverside, 1958) * '' Byrd in the Wind'' (Riverside, 1959) * '' Mr. Guitar'' (Riverside, 1960) * '' The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd'' (Riverside, 1960) * '' Charlie Byrd at the Village Vanguard'' (Riverside, 1961) * '' Blues Sonata'' (Riverside, 1961) * '' Jazz Samba'' ( Verve, 1962) with

* '' Latin Impressions'' (Riverside, 1962) * '' Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros'' (Riverside, 1962) * '' Once More! Charlie Byrd's Bossa Nova'' (Riverside, 1963) * '' Byrd at the Gate'' (Riverside, 1963) * ''

Byrd Song ''Byrd Song'' (subtitled ''Charlie Byrd with Voices'') is an album by American jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd featuring tracks recorded in 1964 and released on the Riverside label.Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, i ...

* '' Ella in Hamburg'' (Verve, live, 1965) * '' Ella Loves Cole'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1972) * ''

Ella in London ''Ella in London'' is a 1974 live album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by a quartet led by the pianist Tommy Flanagan. It is significant as Fitzgerald's only live album recorded in England, although a decade earlier she had recorded four songs ...

'' (

Pablo Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People * Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer * Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer * Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer *Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist * Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer * Pablo B ...

, live, 1974) * '' Montreux '75'' (Pablo, live, 1975) * '' Montreux '77 (Ella Fitzgerald album)'' (Pablo, live, 1977) * '' Digital III at Montreux'' (Pablo, live, 1979) * '' A Perfect Match (Ella Fitzgerald album)'' (Pablo, 1979) * '' Jazz at the Philharmonic – Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo 1983: Return to Happiness'' (Pablo, live, 1983) With

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

*'' The Tommy Flanagan Tokyo Recital'' (Pablo, 1975) *'' Straight Ahead'' (Pablo, 1976) with

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

*'' Something Borrowed, Something Blue'' (

Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar Sys ...

, 1978) With

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Ge ...

*'' The Melody Lingers On'' (HighNote, 1997) With Sam Jones *'' The Soul Society'' (Riverside, 1960) *''

The Chant The Chant is an indie rock band from South Florida that relocated to Atlanta. The band formed in 1984 and was originally composed of Walter Cz on vocals, guitars and mandolin, James "Bing" Johnson on vocals and bass, Todd Barry on drums, and ...

'' (Riverside, 1961) With

Junior Mance Julian Clifford Mance, Jr. (October 10, 1928 – January 17, 2021), known as Junior Mance, was an American jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early life (1928–1947) Mance was born in Evanston, Illinois. When he was five years old, Mance st ...

*'' Blue Mance'' (

Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrast (vision), contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts ...

, 1994) *''The Floating Jazz Festival Trio'' (Chiaroscuro, 1995) *''The FJF Trio with Joe Temperley'' (Chiaroscuro, 1996) *''The Floating Jazz Festival Trio'' (Chiaroscuro, 1997) *''The Floating Jazz Festival Trio'' (Chiaroscuro, 1998) *''A Chiaroscuro Christmas'' (Chiaroscuro) With Helen Merrill *'' The Artistry of Helen Merrill'' (

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso ...

, 1965) With

Bobby Timmons Robert Henry Timmons (December 19, 1935 – March 1, 1974) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was a sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for two periods (July 1958 to September 1959; February 1960 to June 1961), between which he w ...

*'' Chun-King'' ( Prestige, 1964) *'' Workin' Out!'' (Prestige, 1964) With

Louie Bellson Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...

*''Salute'' (Chiaroscuro, 1994) With

Johnny Frigo Johnny Frigo (December 27, 1916 – July 4, 2007) was an American jazz violinist, bassist and songwriter. He appeared in the 1940s as a violinist before working as a bassist. He returned to the violin in the 1980s and enjoyed a comeback, recordin ...

Herb Ellis Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson. Biography Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raise ...

and Lou Carter *''The Soft Winds, Then and Now'' (Chiaroscuro, 1996) With

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and ...

*''Hootie'' (Chiaroscuro, 1997) With

Red Holloway James Wesley "Red" Holloway (May 31, 1927 – February 25, 2012) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Born in Helena, Arkansas,Daniel E. Slotnik"Red Holloway, Swinger of the Sax, Dies at 84" ''The New York Times'', February 28, 2012 ...

, O. C. Smith and

Phil Upchurch Philip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, and ...

*''Standing Room Only'' (Chiaroscuro, 1998) With Waymon Reed * '' 46th and 8th'' ( Artists House, 1977

979 Year 979 ( CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 24 – Second Battle of Pankaleia: An Ibero-Byzantine expeditionary ...

With C. I. Williams *'' When Alto Was King'' ( Mapleshade, 1997)

References

External links

Keter Betts's oral history video excerpts
at The National Visionary Leadership Project * behind Tommy Flanagan. {{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Keter 1928 births 2005 deaths American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Bossa nova musicians People from Port Chester, New York 20th-century American musicians Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Statesmen of Jazz members Mapleshade Records artists