John Betsch (born October 8, 1945) is an American jazz drummer.

Biography

Betsch was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. His family belonged to the

African-American upper class The African-American upper class is a social class that consists of African-American individuals who have high disposable incomes and high net worth. The group may include highly paid white-collar professionals such as academics, engineers, la ...

; his grandfather was the black millionaire Abraham Lincoln Lewis and his grandmother Mary's ancestors included the English colonist

Zephaniah Kingsley Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. (December 4, 1765 – September 14, 1843) was a Quaker, born in England, who moved as a child with his family to South Carolina, and became a planter, slave trader, and merchant. He built four plantations in the Spanish co ...

and

Anna Kingsley Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, born Anta Madjiguène Ndiaye (18 June 1793 – April or May 1870), also known as Anta Majigeen Njaay or Anna Madgigine Jai, was a West African from present-day Senegal, who was enslaved and sold in Cuba, probably via t ...

, an African princess. His mother was a church organist and pianist, and his older sister Marvyne a soprano singer."Travelogue"
''Jet'', January 28, 1960, p. 40. He began playing drums in the school orchestra at the age of nine.
Claudine François website. He attended Fisk University, and while still a student there, at the age of 18, he began playing professionally with pianists Bob Holmes, Ernest Vantrease, and trumpeter Louis Smith. Betsch studied at Berklee College of Music and the

University of Massachusetts-Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, i ...

under

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz 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 history. He work ...

and

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

. After playing in organ trios, he released an album as a leader, ''Earth Blossom'', in 1975. That year he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he played with

Marion Brown Marion Brown (September 8, 1931 – October 18, 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongsi ...

, Paul Jeffrey, Max Roach,

Jeanne Lee Jeanne Lee (January 29, 1939 – October 25, 2000) was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunte ...

and

Henry Threadgill Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...

. Between 1977 and 1979 Betsch joined

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

's ensemble, and from 1980 to 1982 he was with Archie Shepp's band that featured

Hilton Ruiz Hilton Ruiz (May 29, 1952 – June 6, 2006) was an American jazz pianist in the Afro-Cuban jazz mold, but was also a talented bebop player. He was of Puerto Rican descent. Biography Born in New York City, Ruiz began playing piano at the age of ...

, piano, Santi Debriano, bass and Roger Dawson, congas and percussion. In 1983 he recorded with Roger Dawson's septet featuring

, reedman John Purcell, trumpeter Claudio Roditi, bassist Anthony Cox and multi-percussionist Milton Cardona. Following this he was a member of quartets led by

Marty Cook Marty Cook (born May 1947) is an American jazz trombonist. Biography Cook was born in New York and raised in Ohio, where he began playing trombone at age seven. He played in New York in the late 1960s, recording with Marzette Watts in 1968. He p ...

. Since 1985 Betsch has lived in Europe, playing with

Jim Pepper Jim Gilbert Pepper II (June 18, 1941 – February 10, 1992) was a jazz saxophonist, composer and singer of Kaw and Muscogee Creek Native American heritage. He moved to New York City in 1964, where he came to prominence in the late 1960s as a mem ...

and Mal Waldron as well as in a band with his wife, French pianist Claudine François. In the 1990s he played in a group with Steve Lacy, and with

Özay Fecht Özay Fecht (born 1953) is a Turkish-German actress and jazz singer. She was born in Istanbul and went to Germany when she was eighteen and found success. Filmography Television Music In the 1990s, she played in a group with Steve Lacy ...

and in a trio with Elvira Plenar and

Peter Kowald Peter Kowald (21 April 1944 – 21 September 2002) was a German free jazz and free improvising double bassist and tubist. Career A member of the Globe Unity Orchestra, and a touring double-bass player, Kowald collaborated with many European ...

. He has done other recordings with

Thomas Chapin Thomas Chapin (March 9, 1957 – February 13, 1998) was an American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist. Though primarily an alto saxophonist, he also played sopranino, as well as soprano, tenor, baritone saxes and flute. Ma ...

Marilyn Crispell Marilyn Crispell (born March 30, 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Scott Yanow described her as "a powerful player... who has her own way of using space... She is near the top of her field." Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrot ...

, Klaus König, Billy Bang,

Sathima Bea Benjamin Beatrice "Sathima Bea" Benjamin (17 October 1936 – 20 August 2013) was a South African vocalist and composer, based for nearly 45 years in New York City. Early life She was born Beatrice Bertha BenjaminChinen, Nate ''The New York Times'', 29 ...

Uli Lenz Uli Lenz (born March 10, 1955) is a German jazz composer, pianist, and music producer. Background Born in Frankfurt am Main, he began taking piano lessons at the age of four. In the seventies he studied music composition for classical Piano ...

and Simon Nabatov.

Discography

As leader

* ''Earth Blossom'' ( Strata-East, 1974)

As sideman

With Billy Bang * '' The Fire from Within'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1984) With

* '' Spirit Music'' (Cadence, 1983) With

*''

The Journey The Journey may refer to: Film and television * ''The Journey'' (1942 film), or ''El viaje'', an Argentine film * ''The Journey'' (1959 film), an American drama starring Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Jason Robards about the Hungarian Revoluti ...

'' (Chiaroscuro, 1977) With Steve Lacy * '' Anthem'' (RCA Novus, 1990) *'' Itinerary'' (hat ART, 1991) *'' Live at Sweet Basil'' (RCA Novus, 1992) *'' Clangs'' (hat ART, 1993) * '' We See'' (hat ART, 1993) * ''

Revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

'' (Soul Note, 1993) * ''

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

'' (Soul Note, 1993) * '' Monk's Dream'' ( Verve, 2000) With

* ''Good-bye Venus'' (Tutu, 2005) With David Murray * '' Flowers Around Cleveland'' (Bleu Regard, 1995) With Simon Nabatov * ''Inside Lookin' Out'' (Tutu, 1989) With

* ''Dakota Song'' ( Enja, 1987) * ''The Path'' (Enja) * ''Remembrance'' (Tutu 1990) * ''Live at New Morning, Paris'' (Tutu 1999) With

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

* '' Broad Strokes'' (Knitting Factory, 2000) With

* '' When Was That?'' (About Time, 1982) With Mal Waldron * '' Mal, Dance and Soul'' (Tutu, 1987) * '' No More Tears (For Lady Day)'' ( Timeless, 1988) * '' Quadrologue at Utopia'' (Tutu, 1989) * '' More Git' Go at Utopia'' (Tutu 1989) * '' Spring in Prague'' (Alfa Jazz, 1990) With

* ''Red, White, Black and Blue'' (Enja, 1987)

References

;Further reading * John Betschat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betsch, John 1945 births Living people Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida American jazz drummers Jazz musicians from Florida Strata-East Records artists 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Kingsley-Ndiaye family 20th-century African-American musicians