In conjunction with the Americana Music Foundation, the GRAMMY Museum presented an intimate conversation with Bettye LaVette & Steve Jordan followed by a performance at The Greene Space at WNYC and WQXR in New York City. The conversation was moderated by Relix Editors-in-Chief Dean Budnick and Mike Greenhaus and included a discussion with Bettye LaVette and album producer Steve Jordan about the making of her album LaVette!, their creative process, career, and more. Following the conversation, there was a performance.

Bettye LaVette & Steve Jordan are two of many artists to be featured in the GRAMMY Museum’s New York City program series, which includes bringing a slate of the GRAMMY Museum’s renowned GRAMMY In The Schools Education Programs and Public Programs to the East Coast in partnership with the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. “A New York Evening With…” is generously supported by the Dawn and Brian Hoesterey Family Foundation.

Hailed by the New York Times as “one of the great soul interpreters of her generation”, Bettye LaVette is a vocalist who can take any type of song and make it completely her own. Bettye is one of very few of her contemporaries who were recording during the birth of soul music in the 1960s and is still creating vital recordings today. To quote the late, great George Jones: “Bettye is truly a ‘singer’s singer’.”

On her album, LaVette!, producer Steve Jordan—who also drums on the album—put together a murderer’s row of musicians, including 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.