It took over 50 years as a professional jazz bassist for
Keter Betts to record an album of his own. Having played with the likes of
Dinah Washington,
Charlie Byrd, and
Ella Fitzgerald, he of course has the chops, and on
Bass, Buddies & Blues,
Betts puts them to good use in a relaxed set that conjures the best post-bop jazz of the 1950s. Some tunes, like "Some Kinda Mean," reach even further back (in this case vintage 1930s swing).
Betts' own "Calm Before the Storm" boasts a simple, yet effective head reminiscent of mid-'50s
Miles Davis. His blues-inflected playing style gives extra breadth to the songs, and his intuitive use of bent, sliding notes shows that the years with Fitgerald have certainly left their mark on his technique. At certain points, one might guess
Betts has studied
Willie Dixon as much as he has
Oscar Pettiford. While his unique sound developed as a musical foil for Fitzgerald, the same charismatic flavorings happen to make for very fine instrumental listening. ~ John Duffy