These recordings can be considered the final ones of
Betty Carter's early period for, by the time she next appeared on record (in 1969), the singer was much more adventurous in her improvisations. This CD reissues eight selections from
Carter's rather brief 1964 Roulette LP (under 26 minutes), plus it adds seven previously unissued numbers from 1965. On the former date
Carter (who is quite memorable on "This Is Always," "Some Other Time," and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most") is accompanied by pianist
Harold Mabern, bassist
Bob Cranshaw, and drummer
Roy McCurdy, while the "new" session ("There Is No Greater Love" and "You're a Sweetheart" are the standouts) features guitarist
Kenny Burrell plus an unknown rhythm section in the backup band. Highly recommended to
Betty Carter fans and to those listeners who find her later work somewhat forbidding.