Betty Carter's Finest Hour

Recorded between 1958 & 1992. Includes liner notes by William R. Bauer. The Betty Carter installment of Verve's excellent FINEST HOUR series presents 12 songs by the revered jazz vocalist that span the late 1950s to the early '90s. While the opening track, "You're Driving Me Crazy (What Did I Do?)," shines the spotlight on Carter's amazingly deft scatting skills, her slow, sauntering rendition of "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" calls attention to the expressive, nuanced side of her dynamic voice. A concise overview of Carter's career, FINEST HOUR serves as a fine introduction to this wonderful artist. Compilation producer: William R. Bauer. Personnel: Betty Carter (vocals); Carmen McRae (vocals); Jerome Richardson (flute, bassoon, tenor saxophone); Gigi Gryce, Jimmy Powell (alto saxophone); Craig Handy, Don Braden, Benny Golson (tenor saxophone); Sahib Shihab (baritone saxophone); Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, Ray Copeland (trumpet); Melba Liston (trombone); Cyrus Chestnut, Eric Gunnison, Khalid Moss, Danny Mixon, John Hicks, Marc Cary, Norman Simmons, Stephen Scott, Wynton Kelly (piano); Chipper Lyles, Kenny Washington, Al Harewood, Lewis Nash , Winard Harper, Specs Wright (drums). Recording information: Clinton Recording Stusios (02/1958-??/1992); Eastside Sound, New York, NY (02/1958-??/1992); Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA (02/1958-??/1992); Mediasound, New Yourk City (02/1958-??/1992); New York, NY (02/1958-??/1992); Regent Sound STudios, New York, NY (02/1958-??/1992); The Bottom Line, New York, NY (02/1958-??/1992); Village Vanguard, New York, NY (02/1958-??/1992). Photographer: Tom Copi. Arranger: Ray Copeland . Personnel includes: Betty Carter (vocals); Carmen McRae (vocals); Gigi Gryce, Jimmy Powell (alto saxophone); Jermone Richardson (tenor saxophone, flute, bassoon); Benny Golson, Craig Handy (tenor saxophone); Sahib Shihab (baritone saxophone); Kenny Dorham, Ray Copeland, Freddie Hubbard (trumpet); Melba Liston (trombone); Norman Simmons, Wynton Kelly, Cyrus Chestnut (piano); Pec Morrison, Sam Jones, Lisle Atkinson (bass); Lewis Nash, Chip Lyles, Al Harewood, Specs Wright (drums). Producers: Tom Bradshaw, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Liljay Productions.