Bassist Keter Betts was born in Port Chester, New York and started as a drummer, later taking up the bass in 1946. Keter quickly became a sought after musician and played in the rhythm sections of Cannonball Adderley, Earl Bostic, Dinah Washington and Woody Herman. He maintained a long relationship with guitarist Charlie Byrd and pianists Junior Mance and Tommy Flanagan. He recorded and toured with Ella Fitzgerald for over twenty years.
In his later years Keter lived in Washington, D.C. where he worked with young children in the Wolf Trap Program in between his numerous road engagements. Keter passed away on August 6, 2005 at age 77. Trumpeter Clark Terry said of Keter, "he was on the top plateau of all the bass players." His playing was only rivaled by the stories he told about life in the world of jazz.