Betty Roché
A singer who performed with Duke Ellington in both the '40s and '50s, Betty Roché was famous for her strong, dramatic way of putting across blues material, a talent that not every vocalist with this big band had. Ellington, who was sometimes prone to hire vocalists with stilted, nearly classical delivery, described Roché with typical grace: "She had a soul inflection in a bop state of intrigue and every word was understandable despite the sophisticated hip and jive connotations." She was born Mary Elizabeth Roché and began her career by triumphing at an amateur contest at The Apollo Theater in Harlem. In 1941, she sang with the Savoy Sultans, then joined Ellington two years later. It was a tough assignment, replacing one of the bandleader's most popular vocalists, Ivie Anderson, just days before Ellington's first concert at Carnegie Hall. She rose to the occasion, scoring highly with both the critics and audience in her featured section of the Ellington suite "Black, Brown and Beige." Her vocal on this number comes up during the blues sequence, and embodied the composer's interpretation of the feelings of urban Black Americans at the start of the 20th century. It became one of Ellington's greatest pieces for a singer, an ambitious slab of scoring that showed the skill with which the composer was able to make use of the basic feeling of the blues as part of a sophisticated, advanced musical structure. To give credit where credit is due, there were many vocalists who worked with Ellington who would not have been able to pull this number off as effectively as Roché did. Nonetheless, her concert recording rendition was not released until the '70s. Ellington could not make a studio recording of the suite until 1944, by which time Roché had already been replaced by Joya Sherrill. In a similar bit of bad career luck, Roché sang the Ellington signature tune "Take the 'A' Train" in the 1943 film Reveille with Beverly -- the entire band was packed into a film backlot version of a train car. Again, a studio version wasn't to be had until nearly a decade later on the bebop-flavored album Ellington Uptown. One can blame these misfortunes on the second World War and the subsequent ban on all recording activity, which kept Ellington from documenting much of anything in 1943. Roché also performed and recorded with pianist Earl Hines, trumpeter Clark Terry, and funky singer/pianist Charles Brown. In a strange coincidence, the latter performer died only one week after Roché.
She cut three sides under her name for the Bethlehem and Prestige labels in the late '50s and early '60s. In the mid-'50s, she was part of the studio cast recording of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, singing alongside greats such as Mel Tormé. The impression she made on the jazz scene is actually larger than many may think: she's credited as a major influence on both bebop singers, and the public's ability to deal with that kind of musical adventure. Again, the lack of easily available documentation of some of her activities has hindered a full understanding of her career. She sang for the house band at Minton's for almost three years, working with such stalwarts of the new bop scene such as Thelonious Monk on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums.
© Eugene Chadbourne /TiVo
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Take the "A" Train (Remastered 2014)
Jazz vocal - Editado por Bethlehem Records el 14 sept. 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Ellington Uptown (Mono Version)
Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Betty Roché
Jazz - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Dinah Washington Sings the Blues
Blues - Editado por Music Manager el 22 jun. 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lightly and Politely
Jazz - Editado por Music Manager el 14 sept. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete 1941-1961
Jazz - Editado por Le Chant du Monde el 20 may. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lightly And Politely (Remastered)
Jazz - Editado por RevOla el 16 sept. 2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Singin' And Swingin' (Remastered)
Jazz - Editado por RevOla el 30 jul. 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dinah Washington & Betty Roche Sing the Blues (Mono Version)
Jazz - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lightly and Politely (Remastered)
Jazz - Editado por Avid Entertainment el 31 mar. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Four Classic Albums Plus (Take the a Train / Singin' & Swingin' / Lightly and Politely / Moody) [Remastered]
Jazz - Editado por Avid Entertainment el 24 mar. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Didn't Mean a Word I Said
Pop - Editado por Music Flair el 1 jun. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Singin' & Swingin' (Remastered)
Jazz - Editado por Avid Entertainment el 31 mar. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Singin' & Swingin'
Jazz - Editado por Music Manager el 14 sept. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Have You Heard of Betty Roché, Vol. 3
Jazz - Editado por Supreme Media el 30 oct. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Have You Heard of Betty Roché, Vol. 2
Jazz - Editado por Supreme Media el 30 oct. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Take The "A" Train (Remastered)
Jazz - Editado por Avid Entertainment el 31 mar. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Have You Heard of Betty Roché, Vol. 1
Jazz - Editado por Supreme Media el 30 oct. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -