| Summary: | Bassist Keter Betts was born on July 22, 1928 in Port Chester, New York. Developing an early love for music, he took up the drums, but switched to the bass in 1946. Landing his first professional gig at the age of nineteen, Betts travelled to Washington, D.C. with Carmen Leggio for thirteen weeks. From 1951 to 1956, Betts toured with singer Dinah Washington, and after touring Europe with Woody Herman, he met Ella Fitzgerald in 1964. The two collaborated for the next twenty-four years. Betts was an instructor of music at Howard University from 1963, and he was active in a number of community music education programs, including the Washington Performing Arts Society's Concerts in Schools and Prince George's County's Arts Alive. In 1998, Betts released his first solo album, and a second in 1999. He received numerous awards. Betts passed away on November 10, 2016 at the age of eighty-eight.
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