Photo by Danny Clinch
Today, the legendary Bettye LaVette shared that she will be releasing her next offering, Scrub!, on June 16 via Jay-Vee Records. To celebrate the announcement of the collection of songs written by Randall Bramblett, LaVette released a new song titled “Plan B.”
“I don’t have any other fucking plans,” LaVette said of her latest collection since she began her 61-year career. Scrub! 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,” Jordan said in a press release. “When I put together a band for her, I make sure we get her together. When she joins us, we’ll only have one or two takes, because she puts her heart and soul into every performance.”
The Jordan Arranging Band, who also plays drums on the album, 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,” added LaVette. “It’s very, very hard to please an old lady, but I’m almost excited.”
The artist also praised the aforementioned Bramblett in the statement saying, “I think he’s the best songwriter I’ve heard in the last 30 years, and I discovered him eight years ago.”
“When Bettye gets a song, it becomes her song,” Jordan explained. “It’s like she wrote it. She is a great messenger, communicator, interpreter”.
LaVette will perform from late June through mid-July with stops in Seattle, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and more. Learn more and find tickets to upcoming LaVette performances here.
Listen to “Plan B” below.
tour dates
June 20-21 Seattle, WA The Triple Gate
June 23-24 Berkeley, CA Cargo and Salvage
July 7 New York, New York City Winery
Jul 8 City Warehouse Philadelphia, PA
July 9 Washington, D.C. 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
