Versatile Jazz Pianist Brings Quartet to Madison

The late jazz trumpeter Ted Curson once described pianist Betty Liste as someone who "possesses the rare gift to accompany vocalists in the most complementary way." On Sunday, June 23, she will bring her swinging, melodic sound to Madison as the featured performer at the New Jersey Jazz Society's jazz social, being held from 3-5:30 p.m. at Shanghai Jazz. And she will be accompanying singer Bill Robinson, a Summit resident who has performed with her at the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack and Hibiscus Restaurant in Morristown. Robinson once said of Liste: "She's with you every step. If I change something up, she's on top of it."

Liste, who studied with jazz piano master Kenny Barron, began her career in the late 1970s, playing at little clubs in Greenwich Village. Since then, she has appeared at such venues as Lincoln Center and the Montreal Jazz Festival and has taught at Montclair State University, William Paterson University and Manhattan College. The Star-Ledger, reviewing her 2010 CD Jazz Ventures, called Liste a "persuasive pianist and composer" who plays "with gusto and emotion."

Joining her on June 23 will be bassist Kevin McCarthy and drummer Stew Schiffer, a Roseland resident who doubles as executive vice president of the NJJS. Admission is free for NJJS members; $10 for non-members; and there is a $10 food/drink minimum.