WHO WAS KETER BETTS?
Keter Betts was an American jazz bassist, born in Port Chester in Westchester County, New York in 1928. His real name was William Thomas Betts, but everyone, and I mean everyone, called him "Keter". Keter was a shortened, free-form version of mosquito, which is what someone hung on him when he was a kid (when they remarked that he was as cute as a little mosquito), and it stuck, like nicknames do.
Keter was very well-known in jazz circles, but not well-known by the public. He wasn't a "name", but rather, a superlative bassist that played on recordings for decades with some of the biggest names in the business. Keter played on jazz albums with Nat Adderley, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Tommy Flangan, Benny Goodman, Joe Williams, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz, and those are merely the biggest of the big names he played with over the years. There were countless others as the steady power of his bass lines, combined with his emotional playing, kept many bandleaders coming back for more.
Keter was a primary driver behind the introduction of bossa nova jazz to the rest of the world, for it was he, along with Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, that recorded "Jazz Samba" in 1962.
In the mid-60's, Keter settled in for a long gig as Ella Fitzgerald's bassist, a job that lasted for over 24 years.
After Ella retired, Keter led his own band, with occasional side work in sessions, until he died suddenly of a heart atttack in 2005.
This site is to honor the man, his art, and his legacy.
