Betty Carter - Droppin' Things

An otherwise forgotten album

The first time I listened to this, it was with my brother. Hung over, and on our way to making our social calls for the evening we fell asleep to this album playing quietly in our sunlit room. While you will not have a finer experience than the afternoon we enjoyed, you will most assuredly have a similar one, at some point, matching up cleverly Ms. Carter's interpretation of her own loss, loss of marriage, loss of love, against a gentle day spent in contemplation of your own life's trajectory. What a satisfying day that shall make for you, and though I've had countless times in my own life to measure the succinct expressions of joy and loss which are a trademark of Ms. Carter's work, I write this today a bit envious of the joy it shall bring you, wishing for myself that I could lie upon that carpet again with my dear brother in sight, feeling something similar no doubt.

Lucky for me that at a young age, I had the luck and presence of mind to see Ms. Carter in concert. For those of you who study venues, I saw her in several locations, from community college auditoriums, to a black caucus, to Jazz Alley in Seattle, and the Village Vanguard. There were others. None blends with the other, but a few stand out. This album was recorded live at Blues Alley and stands out not only for the quality, tightness, intimacy of the sets, but also for the remarkable skill of the players: Gregory Hutchinson, Craig Handy, Freddie Hubbard are all very skilled instrumentalists who seem to understand how to get the best out of Ms. Carter. When drowned in the intimacy of Star Dust or the uptempo and very funny Droppin' Things, the musicians work exceedingly well together to create a good setting. As individual soloists go, Hubbard and Handy stand out for their complimentary skills: Handy for his history of working with Carter and ability to blend his tenor work with her voice perfectly, and Hubbard for his uptempo whipping of the rhythm section.

It's what jazz is meant to be - more than the instrumental flair and the differentiation many artists strive for at the expense of cohesion. Jazz is above all else an occasion, and in the warm response of a live audience, one finds the appreciation for what it can convey at the height of its powers. It's supposed to send you to sleep on a quiet afternoon, too, but that misses the point. This is the kind of craft which makes you reflect on your own life, your own craft, your own loves and losses. It can be confidently said that if you listen to jazz for its capacity to deliver you then you will surely find a quiet strength in this album and in this singer's work, which will bolster your sense of the world as a good place for years to come.

I deeply miss Betty Carter. I hope that these sentences may help guide a few more people to her, and for those who know her that it may serve as a tip of the cap, that we are in on the secret. But let's not let it stay that way. If you came for greatness, please click away and allow yourself to be moved by one of the giants of jazz at the peak of her ability, and to be guided, with the help of her friends, to a sense of occasion which only great jazz can describe.

Enjoy. October 11, 2004

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