After receiving praise from both Gillespie and Parker for her vocal prowess, Carter felt an upsurge in confidence and knew that she could make it in the business with perseverance. However, Carter eventually performed with Parker, as well as with his band consisting of Tommy Potter, Max Roach, and Miles Davis. ДЄt the time of Gillespie's visit, Charlie Parker was receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital, delaying her encounter with him. In earlier recordings, it is apparent that her scatting had similarities to the qualities of Gillespie's. Gillespie is often considered responsible for her strong passion for scatting. After signing with a talent agent after her win at amateur night, Carter had opportunities to perform with famous jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, who visited Detroit for an extensive amount of time. Дetroit, where Carter grew up, was a hotbed of jazz growth. Her scatting was known to display a degree of spontaneity and basic inventiveness that was seldom seen elsewhere. She also was well known for her passion for scat singing and her strong belief that the throwaway attitude that most jazz musicians approached it with was inappropriate and wasteful. The breathiness of her voice was a characteristic seldom heard before her appearance on the music scene.

Career Д«etty Carter at the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, California, 1979Д®ven at a young age, Carter was able to bring a new vocal style to jazz. When she began performing live, she was too young to be admitted into bars, so she obtained a forged birth certificate to gain entry in order to perform. After winning first place at her first amateur competition, Carter felt as though she were being accepted into the music world and decided that she must pursue it tirelessly. As her parents were not big proponents of her pursuing a singing career, she would sneak out at night to audition for amateur shows. :вЂЉ7 She studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory at the age of 15, but only attained a modest level of expertise. While the lack of support from Carter's family caused her to feel isolated, it may also have instilled self-reliance and determination to succeed. But there wasвЂ¦no real closeness, where the family urged me on, or saidвЂ¦'We're proud'вЂ¦and all that. There's been no real contact or phone calls home every week to find out how everybody isвЂ¦As far as family is concerned, it's been a lonesome trekвЂ¦It's probably just as much my fault as it is theirs, and I can't blame anybody for it.

I have been far removed from my immediate family. Even 30 years after leaving home, Carter was still very aware of and affected by the home life she was raised in, and was quoted saying:

As a child, Carter was raised to be extremely independent and to not expect nurturing from her family. Carter was born in Flint, Michigan, and grew up in Detroit, where her father, James Jones, was the musical director of a Detroit church and her mother, Bessie, was a housewife.

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