The Songs, The Stories, The Great Lady Of Soul An intimate evening with Bettye LaVette, accompanied by Etienne Stadwijk  on keyboards.

Bettye LaVette was hailed by the New York Times as “one of the great soul  interpreters of her generation”. She is a song stylist. Her gift is being able to  take a song from any genre and making it completely her own. To quote the  late, great George Jones, “Bettye is truly a ‘singer’s singer’.”

These intimate shows feature Bettye performing songs and telling stories  from throughout her 64 year career. Hearing Bettye in this setting, stripped  down to just her voice and keyboards, is a very captivating experience.

Her career began in 1962, at 16 years old, in Detroit, Michigan. Her first  single, My Man-He’s A Lovin’ Man, was on Atlantic Records. Throughout  the 60s and 70s, she recorded for several major labels, but was never able  to “break through”. She also appeared in the Broadway Musical Bubbling  Brown Sugar alongside Honi Coles and Cab Calloway.

Since her resurgence in 2000, she has received the R&B Foundation’s  Pioneer Award, won several Blues Music Awards, was inducted into both  The Blues Hall Of Fame and The R&B Hall Of Fame, received the Legacy  Award from the Americana Music Association, and has received 7 Grammy  Nominations.

According to Steve Jordan, who produced her last three albums: “When  Bettye gets a hold of a song, it becomes her song. It’s like she wrote it.  Bettye LaVette is like a combination of Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and  Miles Davis.”

Now, at 80 years old and in her 64th year in show business, she is one of  very few of her peers who were recording during the birth of soul music in  the 1960s and is still performing and creating vital recordings today. She is  a shining example of what perseverance and determination can bring.