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Legendary jazz musician Harold Betters to bring cool sound to hot summer series

3 min read

Legendary musician Harold Betters will bring his cool jazz sound to Uniontown from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today during the Storey Square Summer Lunch Series. The event sponsored by Fayette Holdings will be held on the lawn at Central School, which is located on East Church Street across from the Herald-Standard newspaper. Caileigh’s Restaurant will provide lunch for a small cost. If it rains, the event will be held in the State Theatre lobby on East Main Street.

A Connellsville native, 77-year-old Betters, a trombone player, has vowed audiences throughout the Pittsburgh area and beyond for more than five decades, making him one of the most celebrated jazz musicians nationwide.

Also known as “Mr. Trombone” by his many followers and jazz lovers, he has performed with such musical greats as Louis Armstrong, Al Hirt, Slide Hampton, Ramsey Lewis and Urbie Green. He has recorded 17 albums and three CDs during more than five decades.

In the height of his career, Pittsburgh named him Man of the Year in Music (1967); Playboy ranked him the number-one trombonist in the country (1964); and Downbeat Magazine dubbed him “Mr. Versatility.”

Betters has also been featured in a display at The John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center in the Strip District.

Betters’ music could have taken him anywhere he wanted to go. But a short touring bout with Ray Charles convinced the musician to stay local. Betters said he just didn’t fit into the fast-paced life of a musician on the road during a 2001 interview.

His decision not to tour did not hamper his career at all. In fact, Betters has been able to enjoy the best of both worlds.

For more than 50 years, Betters has enjoyed a successful career as a musician close to home. With Pittsburgh only 50 miles away from the Connellsville home where his three children and six grandchildren were raised, Betters could enjoy his family and his career.

Unlike most musicians, Betters did not have to tour across the country in hopes of booking a “job.”

It was in Pittsburgh that Betters made a name for himself with night after night of sold-out performances in the area’s hottest jazz spots.

Betters often played at the top jazz clubs, including Pittsburgh’s Holiday House, Shaker Height’s Virginia, and Cleveland’s Theatrical Grill.

But The Encore in Pittsburgh is where Betters spent the bulk of his career. For 17 years, he played at The Encore five nights a week to sold-out crowds. Betters’ presence was so strong as the Encore that it became known as “The House that Betters Built.” It was there that Betters caught the eye of Merv Griffin, who invited him to appear on his show a week later.

After high school, Betters studied music at Ithaca College in New York and then the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music with the hope of becoming a band director.

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