The Music Never Stops

The Music Never Stops is a live album by the American jazz singer Betty Carter. Featuring a blend of original material and standards, it was recorded on March 29, 1992, at Aaron Davis Hall in New York City, as part of one of Jazz at Lincoln Center's earliest seasons. On the album, which was issued by Blue Engine Records in 2019, Carter is accompanied by a variety of ensembles, ranging from small groups to a big band and a string section. The recording marked the first posthumous release of previously unheard music by Carter, and arrived 22 years after her previous release.

Carter had received an NEA Jazz Master fellowship in 1992, and used part of the honorarium to fund the concert. She designed the program and stage layout in such a way that all the musicians were on stage during the entire concert, allowing her to segue between ensembles without pausing. Wynton Marsalis, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, recalled: "She assembled three trios and a big band on a single stage and darted among the different ensembles, transitioning seamlessly and effortlessly between burning bebop, deeply felt ballads and original material for which there is no description. She wore these musicians out with her stamina."