| |||||||||||||||
 | | | | | | | | | ||||
 | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Whenever Bettye LaVette walks on stage, whether it is performing at a world famous concert hall, a plush nitery in Las Vegas, or at a popular club in her hometown of Detroit, there is a sudden hush of silence that besets the audience. | ||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
This legendary song stylist has a voice timbre that moves from satin to sandpaper, can turn a whisper into a crescendo, and hold a listener's attention for hours on end. When singing jazz, LaVette has a peaceful, spacious way of phrasing, but when working the blues she pays less attention to diction, instead stressing rhythmic agility with a "tell it like it is" delivery. | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
Bettye LaVette about to go on stage with Ann Peebles ("I Can't Stand the Rain") looking on. | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
Bettye with Myrna Smith of the Sweet Inspirations | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
Don Bryant, Bettye, Myrna Smith, Sam Moore, Wayne Jackson. | ||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||
Bettye with Rudy Robinson and Wayne Jackson. | ||||||||||||
| |
|