Photo by Danny Clinch
Today, the legendary Bettye LaVette shared she’ll release her next offering, LaVette!, on June 16 via Jay-Vee Records. In celebration of the announcement of the collection of songs written by Randall Bramblett, LaVette released a new song titled “Plan B.”
“I ain’t got no f*cking other plan,” said LaVette in regard to her latest collection since her 61-year storied career began. LaVette! sees the artist partner once again with producer Steve Jordan–who founded Jay-Vee Records with Meegan Voss.
“Bettye LaVette is like a combination of Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Miles Davis,” said Jordan in a press release. “When I prepare a band for her, I make sure we have it together. When she joins us, we’re only gonna get one or two takes, because she puts her heart and soul into each performance.”
The band which Jordan—who also drums on the album—arranged includes the stylings of Pino Palladino on bass, Larry Campbell and Chris Bruce on guitars and Leon Pendarvis on keyboards, with guests John Mayer, Jon Batiste, Anthony Hamilton, Steve Winwood, Ray Parker Jr., Rev. Charles Hodges, James Carter and Pedrito Martinez.
“I’m very happy with what we’ve done,” LaVette added. “It is very, very difficult to please an old woman, but I’m nearly excited.”
The artist also sang the praises of the aforementioned Bramblett in the release saying, “I think he’s the best songwriter I’ve heard in the past 30 years, and I just discovered him eight years ago.”
“When Bettye gets a hold of a song, it becomes her song,” Jordan explained. “It’s like she wrote it. She’s a great messenger, a communicator, an interpreter.”
LaVette is set to perform in late June through mid-July with stops in Seattle, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and more. Learn more and find tickets to LaVette’s upcoming performances here.
Listen to “Plan B” below.
Tour Dates
June 20 & 21 Seattle, WA The Triple Door
June 23 & 24 Berkeley, CA Freight & Salvage
July 7 New York, NY City Winery
July 8 Philadelphia, PA City Winery
July 9 Washington, DC The Hamilton
July 11 Red Bank, NJ The Vogel, Count Basie Center for the Arts
July 13 Portsmouth, NH Jimmy’s Jazz Club
July 14 Fall River, MA The Narrows