Jazz Articles about Scott Hamilton

like 250

Scott Hamilton: Blues, Bop & Ballads

by Jim Santella
September 1, 1999

Adopting a smooth Ben Webster approach to the tenor saxophone in this era of fire and screaming creativity, Scott Hamilton has for over twenty years satisfied our yen for beauty of tone without sacrificing meaningful dialogue. Consider some of the pap elevator music that oozes from the radio airwaves these days and just how much of your attention is captured by it. Not much. Then consider your more left-wing approach that grates the listener with harsh squawks and squeals intended ...

like 159

Scott Hamilton/Bucky Pizzarelli: The Red Door

by John Sharpe
May 1, 1999

This wonderfully relaxed, 10-track session, pays tribute to the late tenor giant, Zoot Sims. Seven-string guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli recorded a number of tenor/guitar duos with Sims and hence is uniquely qualified for this sort of encounter. Scott Hamilton, an appointed guardian of the Swing tradition, fits quite comfortably into Zoot's rather large shoes. The repertoire strikes a balance between ballads, chestnuts and classic up-tempo swingers. Bucky comps like crazy and Scott plays his butt off throughout The Red Door. I'm ...

like 95

Scott Hamilton / Bucky Pizzarelli: The Red Door

by Jack Bowers
October 1, 1998

Scott Hamilton and the late Zoot Sims share at least one thing in common aside from mastery of the tenor saxophone, and that is a well–defined musical vocabulary — a bag of tricks, if you will — from which each was (in Hamilton’s case, is) able to choose readily the proper “words” for any occasion from sweet and mellow to caustic and swinging. Zoot’s approach, however, was far more volatile and risk–taking; Hamilton more closely resembles the highly polished but ...

like 118

Scott Hamilton & Bucky Pizzarelli: The Red Door

by Jim Santella
October 1, 1998

The tribute to Zoot Sims by Scott Hamilton and Bucky Pizzarelli is, as one would expect, wrinkle-free, easy on the ears, and nostalgic. The duo has chosen tunes associated, in one way or another, with the tenor saxophonist who delighted audiences for some 40 years; Sims passed away in 1985 at age 59. Allowing each voice to be heard unobstructed while still providing ample interaction, the duo format works well; Pizzarelli worked and recorded briefly as a duo with Zoot ...

like 430

Scott Hamilton: Christmas Love Song

by Jim Santella
November 1, 1997

The artwork on both covers of Scott Hamilton's Christmas album with strings offers the very same message that the music does. The front cover contains the image of a Christmas tree ornament in front of an evergreen tree, and the glass sphere contains the reflection of two full champagne glasses. The back cover depicts an urban night scene with street lamp and a neon sign pointing to a door stating “Jazz Tonight." On the one hand, the session is one ...

like 367

Scott Hamilton with Strings: Christmas Love Song

by Robert Spencer
November 1, 1997

Ah, Scott Hamilton with strings playing Christmas music. I'll get out my red-and-green sweater and we'll decorate the tree with tinsel while this disc plays. We'll sip apple cider with cinnamon sticks and wrap the presents we bought for Mom and Aunt Gertrude. You know, I think when we were in J. C. Penney's today picking out Aunt Gertrude's binoculars, this disc was playing over the PA system.

I write thus not to belittle this disc, only to explain it. ...