Harold Betters (March 21, 1928 – October 11, 2020) was an American jazz trombone player.

Early life and education

Born in

Connellsville, Pennsylvania Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and away via the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 7,637 at th ...

, Betters was raised in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. While growing up, Betters' parents owned the Betters’ Grill and Hotel. Betters studied music education at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

for two years before being drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war ended, Betters studied at the

Brooklyn Conservatory of Music The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, known at one time as the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music, is a music conservatory located in Brooklyn, New York City. It offers a broad range of instruction in areas of American song, jazz and gospel sing ...

for a year.

Career

In 1952, Betters moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he met his wife, Marjorie. He toured with

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...

and with the

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

big band, playing at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

. Thereafter, he led his own quartet which included pianist John Thomas and Jerry Betters on drums. In the early 1960s, Betters returned to

with his family, where he worked as a session musician and performed at the

Crawford Grill The Crawford Grill was a renowned jazz club that operated in two locations in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During its heyday in the 1950s and 60s, the second Crawford Grill venue hosted local and nationally-recognized acts, inclu ...

with

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion dur ...

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from t ...

, and

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

. Betters also performed in a group with his two brothers. Betters played in the style of

Trummy Young James "Trummy" Young (January 12, 1912 – September 10, 1984) was an American trombonist in the swing era. He established himself as a star during his 12 years performing with Louis Armstrong in Armstrong's All Stars. He had one hit with his v ...

and

Bennie Green Bennie Green (April 16, 1923 – March 23, 1977) was an American jazz trombonist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and ...

. In late 1964, Betters had his only chart appearance on the US

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

when the track, "Do Anything You Wanna, (Pt. 1)", peaked at #74.

Personal life

Betters died on October 11, 2020 at the age of 92.

Discography

* ''At the Encore'' (Gateway, 1962) * ''Takes Off'' (Gateway, 1963) * ''Even Better'' (Gateway, 1964) * ''Meets

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tuba and flugelho ...

'' (Gateway, 1964) * ''The Big Horn'' (H.B. Records) * ''Swingin' on the Railroad'' (Gateway, 1965) * ''Ram-bunk-shush'' (Reprise, 1965) * ''Do Anything You Wanna'' (Gateway, 1966) * ''Out of Sight and Sound'' (Reprise, 1966) * ''Funk City Express'' (Reprise, 1966) * ''Jazz Showcase'' (Gateway, 1977) * ''With Friends, Live in New York'' (2001)

References

* http://jazzburgher.ning.com/profile/HaroldBetters * http://jazzburgher.ning.com/profiles/blogs/pittsburgh-jazz-records-and

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Betters, Harold 1928 births 2020 deaths American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Mainstream jazz trombonists Musicians from Pittsburgh People from Connellsville, Pennsylvania Ithaca College alumni Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century trombonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians