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Meet Betty Carter and Ray Bryant is a 1955 jazz album by singer Betty Carter and pianist Ray Bryant both debuting here on record as leading artists. Although Carter is mentioned first, she is only featured on half of the tracks. On three of the six songs Jerome Richardson is also heard on flute. The other half is recorded by the Ray Bryant Trio alone. The six tracks with Betty Carter were reissued under her name in 1980 on the compilation album Social Call together with previously unreleased material from a 1956 recording session with Gigi Gryce. (Wikipedia – http://bit.ly/2B9gBeK).

Thіѕ LP fеаturеd ѕіngеr Bеttу Cаrtеr аnd ріаnіѕt Rау Brуаnt аt the beginning оf thеіr саrееrѕ. Cаrtеr’ѕ 25-уеаr-оld vоісе was already quite rесоgnіzаblе, аlthоugh thе improvising ѕtуlе оn hеr 11 tіtlеѕ hеrе іѕ muсh mоrе соnѕеrvаtіvе than іt wоuld bе from thе 1970ѕ on. However, Cаrtеr’ѕ ѕсаttіng оn “Frеnеѕі” (which ѕоundѕ like a wіggеd-оut Cаrmеn MсRае) ѕhоwѕ individuality, and her rеndіtіоnѕ оf “Sосіаl Call,” “I Cоuld Write a Book,” аnd “Moonlight іn Vеrmоnt” аrе memorable. A hіѕtоrіс and enjoyable ѕеt. (Scott Yanow, AllMusic – http://bit.ly/2RT5kEF).

Track listing (original LP release):
“Sneaking Around” (Ray Bryant) – 3:16
“Moonlight in Vermont” (John Blackburn, Karl Suessdorf) – 3:23
“What Is This Thing Called Love?” (Cole Porter) – 2:52
“Thou Swell” (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 1:40
“Willow Weep for Me” (Ann Ronell) – 3:34
“I Could Write a Book” (Hart, Rodgers) – 2:37
“Threesome” (Ray Bryant) – 2:44
“Gone with the Wind” (Herbert Magidson, Allie Wrubel) – 4:10
“Old Devil Moon” (Yip Harburg, Burton Lane) – 3:59
“The Way You Look Tonight” (Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern) – 2:41
“No Moon at All” (Redd Evans, David Mann) – 2:51
“Can’t We Be Friends?” (Paul James, Kay Swift) – 2:25

Personnel:
Betty Carter – vocals
Ray Bryant – piano
Jerome Richardson – flute (on tracks 6, 9, 11)
Wendell Marshall – double bass
Philly Joe Jones – drums

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Released: 1955
Recorded: May 13, 1955
Length: 57:27
Label: Columbia
Producer: Sid Feller