Betty Smith [GB]

Saxophonist, vocalist and entertainer born in Sileby, near Leicester. At 15 she auditioned for Archie's Juveniles, a travelling show featuring an all-girl saxophone septet. After performing for troops in the Middle East with the pianist Billy Penrose in 1948 she took a familiar route for female player, touring first with Rudy Starita's all-girl band in Germany before joining the better-known Ivy Benson orchestra, another all-female ensemble. She met her future husband, the trumpeter Jack Peberdy, at her 19th-birthday party. Smith formed her quintet in 1957 (with Brian Lemon on piano and Peberdy on bass) and kept it going until 1964.