Footprints in the Dark is a way for Contour to make one part of his research practice public, and maybe add some incentive for vigor as he explores. Each month, he’ll compile two hours of music or sound from a single black artist. This prompt is intentionally vague – could be a musician, could be a poet, could be a filmmaker, etc. Some months may feature guest presenters/focus on more than one artist.

He will be rejecting the following ideas/instincts that come up for this kind of exercise as he proceeds:
– The instinct to focus on non-living, non active artists. There will be some, but he intends to represent a fair mix of those who are still currently active.
– The instinct to make this a comprehensive representation of a catalog, or a guide of sorts. He’ll select the material that resonates with him, in hopes that listeners find inspiration to further explore on their own.
Betty Carter was a vocalist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator. Born in Detroit and getting her start during the bebop era, she eluded definition by any one era by making anything she touched her own, and her performances of her own tunes and the tunes of others alike share a singular vision; there’s a reaching towards the heart of what can occur when one is completely present that can be felt in any of her recordings. One such recording (included in this show) is her rendition of Djavan’s “Amazon, Farewell” at 1998’s Nice Jazz Festival, where her humor and force are at full display only months before her passing. Dedicated to pushing the form of jazz vocalism forward throughout her life, she valued individuality and understood that the only way for an artists true contributions to form to come through was to create space for the artist to truly feel safe and encouraged to become themselves. She modeled this through a lifelong practice of pedagogy, and was known for always having young musicians as a part of her ever rotating ensemble of accompanists, the likes of whom included Mulgrew Miller, Geri Allen, Jack DeJohnette and more.

Recommended viewing, reading, listening:
Betty Carter – New All the Time
But Then, She’s Betty Carter (Currently available on the Criterion Channel)
CBS Sunday Morning, “Betty Carter: Jazz Ahead” 1996
Betty Carter: Fiercely Individual
Betty Carter at the Walker Art Center
A Converation with Betty Carter ( The Jazz Report Magazine) 1988