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Style/Instrumentation


Jazz (modern and traditional), Contemporary,Blues, R&B and Gospel
Betty Shirley: Vocals.
Betty Shirley usually performs with her Trio (vocals, bass, piano), Quartet (vocals, bass, piano, drums) or Quintet (vocals, bass, piano, drums, horns)

BIOGRAPHY

Jazz Vocalist extraordinaire, artist and teacher Betty Shirley has come full circle in her life and is now reaping the benefits of her hard-earned endeavors. The Times Picayune declares “…her range and command of the stage make Shirley’s a voice that should be heard round the world.”

Blessed with all the range and tonal control one might expect from a first-class Jazz singer, Shirley can scat, propel, coax and hang on to a note. She improvises with unnerving instincts and delivers exactly what a song needs, spinning notes like silk. Michael ‘Mr. Jazz’ Gourrier (of WRIR-FM, Richmond Virginia) says about Betty, “One of the top female vocalists on the New Orleans scene – sensitive, sassy, coy and a great interpreter.”

Betty Shirley says, “Most of my singing is a natural expression, the voice is an instrument and to be able to sing illuminates the entire world, it has given me a chance to express my sincere devotion to this music.” Shirley’s extensive repertoire ranges from original compositions, Jazz (modern and traditional), and Blues to R&B, and Bossa Nova. Lucy Galliher, Musician and former East Coast Editor - Jazz Now Magazine writes “… her songs are alive, mixing vocalizing, talking and scanting into a wonderful blend of colors…”

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Shirley spent her childhood in Chicago, and “ran off” to study music and art in New York City at the age of 16. Betty Shirley honed her skills on the New York scene making use of Jazz Mobile, and performing in such clubs as Birdland, Green Street Café and the Village Gate. In the early 1990’s she followed her muse and settled in the great Jazz city of New Orleans where she has continued to perform at such clubs as Snug Harbor, Royal Sonesta and Donna’s.

She has sung with some of the best Jazz musicians in the world – Ellis Marsalis, Art Blakey Jr., Benny Green and Bross Townsend, to name a few – and her tours have included Europe and Brazil. Her credits include the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Pensacola Jazz Festival, Essence Fest and the Women in Jazz Series.

Betty Shirley’s most recent award was being named and honored as a 2007 Jazz All-star by New Orleans Magazine. Her other awards received included Best Jazz Vocalist, Gambit Magazine's Big Easy Awards and Duke Ellington Concerts Award.

As a recording artist, Shirley has 3 critically acclaimed CDs to her credit as a leader. Unveiled (1995), Betty Shirley Sings (with the Chuck Chaplin Trio, 2002), and Close Your Eyes (released March 2007). Unveiled was described by Offbeat Magazine as “not another album of tired standards. Shirley works the songs into new forms and lets them fly into unaccustomed orbits.” Her latest work “Close Your Eyes,” was completed just at the time Hurricane Katrina was rolling in. Other collaborations include working with pianist Betty List to write the lyrics for the song Jazz Waltz that appears on the CD Unveiled.

New Orleans Magazine states, “When it comes to Betty Shirley it’s all about jazz. She’s a creative improviser both in her music and in her life”. Shirley partially credits her 23 years of Buddhist practice for this feat. Betty’s musical influences include Billie Holliday, whose troubled life entered into her repertoire a vast number of wonderful lyrics. Others include Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald and Betty Carter all great singers who challenged every possibility of sounds and phrases and were masters of control. Another great influence was Shirley’s mother, who could also sing and knew a lot of good music. Shirley would listen to the way she sang and call her to hear her hit a note sometimes.

Betty Shirley was “discovered” in Catholic School by nuns who were amazed by her singing. They tried to make her sing the beautiful Ava Marias however this music did not groove her at such a young age. Instead, Betty found herself more attracted to the heavier sounds of the blues. This fascination with the blues resulted in her spending lots of time hanging around catfish joints listening to blues singers. Shirley’s curiosity for this music grew even more when her mother then moved to Chicago where the blues was really popular.

Shirley eventually moved to New York at the age of 16, there she really “heard” jazz for the first time and met many musicians in the streets of Harlem. Shirley states the “the streets were a particularly great teacher and I loved studying with the street musicians”. Determined to refine her newfound craft, Shirley opted for some professional training by pursuing an Associate Degree in Music and Art from Staten Island Community College (SICC) in Staten Island, New York. She studied music wherever she could, taking private lessons in classical and jazz and attending the revered Jazz Mobile in New York City for 3 years from 1985 to 1987. Shirley also refined her scatting ability by listening and following such horn players as Gene Ammons, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.

At Staten Island Community College, Shirley won the Duke Ellington Award, at a Duke Ellington Concert held there in 1985. At this event she had the opportunity to perform with Sonny Greer who was a drummer in Duke Ellington’s Band. Initially she started performing with other Jazz Mobile alumni and was given some of her first gigs by Charles Washington (father of Kenny Washington) performing at Roberto Clemente State Park in the Bronx. She continued gigging at clubs in New York City and collaborated and performed with the great musicians on the scene at the time. Dating from 1987, these include:

  • Jazz club1st on 1st with Gillie Coggins (pianist) & Jo Jones Jr. (drummer) (both played and recorded with Miles Davis).
  • Clifford’s (72nd & Broadway), with Brian Klarmin, & Patrick Polidian both pianists. This venue was also a hang out for Jazz Mobile alumni
  • Maxwell’s in Hoboken, with Benny Green and Marsha Frazier, both excellent pianists.  
  • Flamingo Lounge in Brooklyn for 4 to 5 years, working with musicians including Lance Bryant (sax), Len Christi (bass), Lewis Nash (drummer), James Wideman, Danny Mixon, Bobby Forrester (organ), Percy Franc (sax), Bross Townsend, Joseph Tranchina.
  • Other venues including Birdland, Smalls and Green Street Café and the Village Gate.

Shirley started hosting a jam session at Angry Squire (27th & 7th Ave) with the Allen Kaymen quartet in 1990. There she met musicians, singers and poets from Spain, Brazil, Europe and New Orleans who would all come and sit in. She was encouraged by some of the New Orleans musicians to check out the scene there.

Betty’s first trip to New Orleans was to record with Mat Lanius. She eventually returned and got a date at Snug Harbor hosted by photographer and jazz enthusiast Pat Jolly. Strangely, perhaps, the folks she met in New York had moved out of town. “I was on my own – I am a child of the universe.” She did hook up with folks like David Torkanowsky, who lived across the street from her, as well as pianist Joel Simpson.

Shirley and pianist Larry Sieberth began working together, regularly including trips to Baton Rouge. She was a regular at the Palace Café with Peter Martin (All-Star 1994) at the piano and headed to Europe with Sieberth and Bill Huntington. She performed with other New Orleans greats such as Ellis Marsalis. It was Ellis Marsalis who encouraged her to start teaching again, saying, and “The schools could really use you.” She took his consul and taught art at various schools in the New Orleans public system as well as at St. Mark’s Charter School.

“I originally came to New Orleans looking for this music and what I could contribute. After Katrina, what drew me back to New Orleans, was the fact that I just could not walk away from the place I had learned to love so much,” states Shirley when reflecting on Hurricane Katrina’s effect on her life. Shirley believes that New Orleans has its own culture and something you find in the music that can’t be found anywhere else. She had something to look forward to on her return to the city after Hurricane Katrina, her latest CD, which was completed just at the time Katrina was rolling in. “We could hear the thunder, inside the Word of Mouth Studio on the West Bank” remarks Shirley. This new CD master survived the storm thanks to great people at Word of Mouth Studio on the West Bank. The CD, “Close Your Eyes” was released on March 12, 2007 with a great show at Snug Harbor.


Betty Shirley believes that women in jazz play a significant role in music and they inspire younger singers trying to achieve and start their own jazz careers. Betty, “thanks all the other great jazz vocalist of the past and those currently on the New Orleans scene who needs to be heard and who help to keep this craft alive” and great musicians she has been working with over the years such as Richard Molten and Chuck Chaplin and Kirk Branch.

Parts of this Biography were taken from articles written by Lucy Galliher, Musician and former East Coast Editor - Jazz Now Magazine and Geraldine Wyckoff, Our Jazz All-Stars the Class of '07, New Orleans Magazine.

PRESS QUOTES


“… rich, husky voice can take on the melodic meandering of Billie Holiday or the passionate power of a Sarah Vaughn”
- Lagniappe, The Times Picayune

“One of the top female vocalists on the New Orleans scene – sensitive, sassy, coy and a great interpreter.”
-Michael ‘Mr. Jazz’ Gourrier of WRIR-FM, Richmond Virginia

“… Her songs are alive, mixing vocalizing, talking and scanting into a wonderful blend of colors…”
- Notes from the Apple by Lucy Galliher, Musician and former East Coast Editor - Jazz Now Magazine

“…her range and command of the stage make Shirley’s a voice that should be heard round the world” - Lagniappe, The Times Picayune

“If the festival had a surprise artist, it’s Shirley. With her stunningly beautiful honey–toned voice, she offered a glowing set of smooth straight-ahead jazz”
- Clearwater Times

“To say Betty and her lowdown Blues have been well-received by our Guest is an understatement. Betty is “as good as it gets…”
-Ti Adelaide Martin, proprietor Commander’s Palace and Cafe Adelaide

"Shirley works the songs into new forms and lets them fly into unaccustomed orbits"
– Offbeat

"Shirley works each song for the song's impact rather than seeing each song as a chance to show off her vocal prowess. That's the mark of a great singer and Betty Shirley is a great singer."
– Martin Fullington, Freelance writer, Upcoming Worth

"… quickly won over the crowd with her sultry voice and shimmering tone"
- Star Ledger

DISCOGRAPHY

As Leader


Close Your Eyes(2007)


Betty Shirley Sings(2002)

Unveiled(1995)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Recordings Include:

  • Bose Corporation, Bose Audio Sound Track, Ultrasonic Studio (New Orleans) 2002, -Betty Shirley/Chuck Chaplin/Chris Severin, Herman LaBeau (work for hire)
  • Betty Shirley, lyricist and Betty List, Composer "Jazz Waltz", Madison Studios, New York, 1985
  • Betty Shirley with Herman Kelly, 'Playing Games', vocals, Iza Studio, 1985
  • Jazz Mobile Musicians, "A New Way of Life", vocals, A.R.T. Studios, New York, 1985

PRESS

PROFEESSIONAL COLLABORATIONS

The Chuck Chaplin Trio

The Richard Moten Trio

Roland Alexander

Art Blakey Jr.

Paul Brown

Lance Bryant

John Bur

Len Christi

Mike Clark

Gillie Coggins

Charles Davis

Bobby Forrester

Percy France

Marsha Frazier

Benny Green

Sonny Greer

Lylette Jenkins

Jo Jones, Jr.

Alan Kamen

Betty List

Marcus McClarins

Andy McCloud

Danny Mixon

Ralph Moore

Lewis Nash

Stan Patrick

Cecil Payne

Valery Ponomarev

Vinnie Ruggieri

Tarik Shah

Joel Simpson

Scoby Strobman

Joseph Tranchina

Bross Townsend

Kenny Washington

James Widerman

Bill Huntington

Lawrence Sieberth

Johnny Vidacovich

Mike Pellera

David Torkanowsky

Jim Singleton

Hurley Blanchard

Steve Masakowski

Ellis Marsalis

Stefano Sabatini

Dario Deidda

Amadeo Arlano

Enzo Scoppa

Francesco Santucci

Phil Pernell

Thaddeus Richards

Peter Martin

Eric Traub


AWARDS

  • Jazz All-Stars Award, 2007 New Orleans Magazine

  • Critics Choice Award-Best of Louisiana CD's of 2002, OffBeat Magazine

  • Culled from 300 Louisiana releases. A joint effort of OffBeat editors and writers

  • Best Jazz Vocalist, Gambit Magazine's Big Easy Awards

  • Second Place Award, Hennessey National Jazz Search, New Orleans, LA 1992

  • Coordination and Performance Award, Mount Loretta Youth Programs, Staten Island, 1987

  • The Creative Art and Performance Award, CUNY (Staten Island), 1985
    Duke Ellington Concerts Award, CUNY (Staten Island), 1985

  • Southern Arts Festival

  • CD Reviews-OffBeat Magazine, May 1995 (Review Enclosed)

  • Lagniappe Magazine (Times Picayune-New Orleans) Weekly Entertainment Insert, 1995

CONCERT APPEARANCES

  • Pensacola Jazz Festival, Pensacola, FL, 2005

  • Louis Armstrong "Satchmo Summer Fest", 2004

  • Essence Fest 1998, 1999
  • Concert for an Alabama Corporation, Daphne, Alabama, 1999

  • Fundraiser event for Neighborhood Housing Services, New Orleans, 1999

  • Women of Jazz, Southern University of New Orleans, 1999

  • Heritage Music Concert Series, St Augustine Church, New Orleans, 1999

  • New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, 1991-1998

  • NO/AIDS Concert, Storyville, New Orleans, 1993

  • Sponsors P q for Lafreniere Jazz Festival, New Orleans, 1993

  • Women in Arts, Black History Week, New Orleans Museum of Art, 1992

  • New Orleans Coalition Against Racism Concert, Woldenberg Park, 1991

  • Women in Jazz, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, 1991

  • Women in Jazz History, Stony Brook University, Long Island, New York, 1988

  • Newark Jazz Festival, Newark., New Jersey, 1987

  • Celebration of Martin Luther King, Snug Harbor, New Orleans, 1986

  • Women in the Arts, Lafayette Church, Brooklyn, New York, 1985

  • Black History Week, Montclair State College, New Jersey, 1985
    Duke Ellington Concert, CUNY, Staten Island, New York, 1984,1985

  • Kool Jazz Festival, Montreal, 1983,1985

  • Jazz at Noon, World Trade Center, New Orleans, 1984

  • Women of the NAACP, the Village Gate, New York, 1983

CLUB APPEARANCES

  • New Orleans: Donna's, 829 (Harrah's Casino), Snug Harbor, Royal Sonesta Hotel, Sweet Lorraine's, Steak Knife, Chateau, Palace Café, Palm Court Café, Bella Luna

  • Baton Rouge: Geno's

  • Manhattan: Birdland, Chelsea Place, Green Street Café, The Village Gate, Angry Squire

  • Brooklyn: Flammingo Lounge
    New Jersey: Cleo's (Meadowlands), Finesse at Finn's (Fort Lee), Maxwell's Pub (Hoboken)

  • Brazil: Bourbon St. Jazz Club

  • Rome: Italy: Alexander Platz, St Louis Club

  • Switzerland: Casa Vella (Lax), Hotel Eden (Arosa)

  • Germany: The Tauffenbach (Frankfort) Blues Brunch

  • Canada: L'Air du Temps (Montreal)

MEDIA APPEARANCES

  • Television Commercial, Palace Cafe, New Orleans, 1994

  • Performance at Alexander Polatz, Rome, Italy, televised with Slide Hampton, 1993

  • Live Radio Performance with Stefano Sabatini at Piano, Rome, Italy, 1993

  • Live Radio Performance with Lawrence Sieberth, Bachum, Germany, 1993

  • Movie Stand-In, "Hard Target", 1993 Live Radio Performance, WWOZ, New Orleans, 1991

  • 'Love Story in New York", daytime drama, Fuji Movie Productions, New York 1988 (aired in Tokyo and U.S. nationwide)

  • Live Radio Performance with group You'll See Trio, New York, 1988

SET LIST/REPERTOIRE

Betty Shirley usually performs 2-3 sets that typically run between 45 minutes and 1 hour long and depends on the venue and type of performance. A typical set list is a great combination of a variety of styles. A sample of Betty Shirley’s repertoire includes the following:

1. Jazz Waltz (lyrics by Betty Shirley)

2. Pull you from th e Sky(lyrics by Betty Shirley)

3. The Very Thought Of You

4. I Remember You

5. Them There Eye

6. Day’s Of Wine and Roses

7. S’ Wonderful

8. Just Friends

9. Lullaby of Birdland

10. Good morning Heartache

11. Bye Bye Blackbird

12. God Bless The Child

13. Gone With the Wind

14. Sugar in My Bowl

15. Perdido

16. It Had to Be You

17. I”ll Remember April

18. They can’t Take that Away From me

19. Ain't Misbehaving

20. Four

21. Route

22. There Will never be another You

23. A Train

24. Summertime

25. Blues------A---(fine &mellow)

26. Straight no Chaser

27. Girl from Ipanema

28. Green dolphin St.

29. In walked Bud

30. At Last

31. Autumn Leaves

32. April in Paris

33. But Beautiful

34. Bill Bailey

35. Basin St. Blues

37. Bursting In With the Dawn

38. Begin the Beguine

39. But Not for me

40. Broadway

41. Blue Skies

42. Body and Soul

43. Blues in------F( every day—Route 66 )

44. Blues in-------A(flat) fine and mellow

45. Blues in --------C(rambling man )

46. Blue berry hill

47. Come rain or come Shine

48. Cheek to Cheek

49. Caravan

50. Cry me a river

51. Dindi

52. Don’t Take your love away from me

53. Day by day

54. Dearly Beloved

55. Don’t go to Strangers

56. No Detour Ahead

57. East of the sun

58. Easy living

59. Embraceable you

60. For you

62. Fever

63. Feel like making love

64. For sentimental reason

65. Four

66. Falling in love with love

67. Fly me to the moon

68. Funny valentine

70. Green Dolphin Street

71. Gone with the wind

72. Going to the Mardi Gras

73. Give me the simple life

74. Georgia on my mind

75. Guess who I saw today

76. God bless the child

77. Honey suckle rose

78. Hi Fly

79. Have you met old Jones

80. Here’s to life

And More…

 

 

TECHNICAL RIDER

Betty Shirley’s Trio*, Quartet* or Quintet*

Trio*, - Instrumentation: Vocals, Piano and Bass

Quartet*- Instrumentation: Vocals, Piano, Bass and Drums

Quintet*- Instrumentation: Vocals, Piano, Bass, Drums and Horns

Vocals
1 vocal mic (e.g. Shure SM-58)
1 monitor

Piano (upright, grand piano- if no piano is provided will bring elec. Piano)
2 mics for piano
1 monitor for piano

Bass
1 mic
1 Bass Amp (unless bass player brings own amp e.g. Trace Elliot Ah350smx, Marshall 7400 Dynamic Bass Amplifier, Ampeg Svt400th, Peavey Data Bass 450)


Drum Set/Percussion
Drum set complete with hardware (snare, 12” mounted tom, 14” floor tom, 20” kick drum, ride cymbal, two crash cymbals, 14” hi hats, rug, drum throne)
6 Mics Total- 1 overhead mic (e.g. MXL 603 Pencil); 1 kick mic (e.g. AKG D 112)
1 snare mic (e.g. Shure SM-57); 1 hi hat mic (e.g. AKG414 or Overhead Pencil mic); 1 percussion mic (e.g. Shure SM-57)
1 monitor

Horn
1 mic

*For all sets the house PA should provide Sound System with Mixer, etc

Any questions please contact: Betty Shirley, Tel: 504-592-9857,

Email: bettyshirleysings@gmail.com
Thanks