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Jimmy Scott: I Go Back Home: A Story About Hoping And Dreaming
Sadness naturally hovers like a black cloud over life's December days, but hope and joy can often find a way to peak through the overcast skies. That's a message that comes through most clearly on Jimmy Scott's beautiful parting gift to the world. I Go Back Home manages to serve as swan song, celebration, tribute, soiree, and soundtrack all at once. It brings Scott into contact with an incredible array of musicians while showcasing his inimitable voice--a ...
read moreJimmy Scott: I Go Back Home
Jimmy Scott: I Go Back Home Kemper Music, Sine Qua Non Music 2016 “Little" Jimmy Scott (1925-2014) was for a long time the world's greatest jazz singer nobody ever heard of. Enormously talented, with an intuitive grasp of the jazz idiom and the blues, he began his ascendance as a singer with Lionel Hampton's band in the 1950s, and then almost vanished from the scene for three decades. In 1991, Velvet Underground guitarist Lou Reed and ...
read moreJimmy Scott: Across the Universe
Listening to Little Jimmy Scott sing is different from listening to any other singer. His high-pitched voice carries more emotion than any instrument can reasonably bear, and seems to come from a special place deep within his heart. Yet that voice also seems to resound from a profound source far beyond any one man, a place where individuality no longer exists: The everlasting pulse of the universe. Jimmy Scott's voice soars in the heaven of romantic love, and burns in ...
read moreMeet Little Jimmy Scott
All About Jazz: You've been out of the country recently?Jimmy Scott: Yes, I was in France and Italy. I was there with my regular group. Hilliard Greene is on bass, Michael Keenan is on piano, and Victor Jones is on drums. Hilliard has been with me for twelve years, and the other two have been with me for at least four years. I organized a band in '85, and Hilliard was with me then.AAJ: Was the ...
read moreJimmy Scott: Counting His Blessings
“Jimmy had soul way back when people weren't using the word," observed Ray Charles. Even though through the years he's inspired champions like Quincy Jones, Lou Reed, Elton John and director David Lynch, NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Scott's career has been a rollercoaster for over seven decades. He's unlikely ever to become a household name and yet scores of singers have been influenced by his powerfully emotional style and uniquely expressive phrasing, among them Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Frankie ...
read moreJimmy Scott: Profiles
No singer in jazz or popular music can convey heartache and loss with the conviction of Jimmy Scott. Then again, few have endured the struggles and overcome the challenges that the Cleveland native with the inimitable soprano has faced over his long and remarkable career. This compilation in Milestone's Profiles series draws from a set of albums Scott recorded for the label over a short span from 2000-01, when he was about 75 and about a decade ...
read moreJimmy Scott: Moon Glow
No matter how you define it, a real “jazz singer" is exactly what Jimmy Scott is. His phrasing and delivery are simply impeccable, and – though at age 78 his voice may be a bit rough around the edges – he sings straight from the heart. Scott's newest release offers up ten ballads sung in his typical unpredictable and captivating style. This is prime Scott luring the listener into each song with his subtle nuances and revealing ...
read moreJimmy Scott: Moon Glow
It took a long time in coming, but Jimmy Scott’s sure found his career groove with his series of “comeback” albums with Todd Barkan for the Milestone label. Barkan somehow knows how to set up Scott’s distinctive vocal presence – an unparalleled dynamic between the performer's exquisite sense of jazz and blues timing, and the ravages of Kallmann’s Syndrome on his voice – with simple perfection. On his fourth Milestone set, Scott burns like a classic torch singer through classic ...
read moreJimmy Scott: Moonglow
There is something strangely perfect about Jimmy Scott’s singing. And I do not attribute this to his well-documented Kallman’s Syndrome, a condition that has preserved his beautiful high tenor. Mr. Scott’s recordings are characterized by an uncharacterizable voice and delivery that keeps the listener off center. This works both to his advantage and disadvantage. While “Moonglow" is delivered and accepted with a smile, the Beatles’ “Yesterday" is offered with disconcerting vocal starts and stops. Still provocative, it is not bad, ...
read moreFaith in Time: the Life of Jimmy Scott By David Ritz
Faith in Time: The Life of Jimmy ScottDavid RitzDaCapo Press (2002)ISBN: 0306810883272 pages Blessed with one of the sweetest voices and kindest dispositions in jazz, Jimmy Scott has also been cursed with some of the worst luck – though the still vibrant 77-year-old song stylist would never admit that. Despite years of neglect by audiences, mistreatment by managers and record labels, endless taunts over his androgynous voice and appearance, ...
read moreJimmy Scott: Over the Rainbow
Though age may be taking its toll on the unmistakable voice of Jimmy Scott, that is not stopping the “Little" (in physical stature only) legend from making the most of his recent renaissance. No longer considered a novelty, this powerful performer is putting out some of the best work of his career. With the support of fellow big swingers like George Mraz and David “Fathead" Newman, Scott squeaks and struts his way through some of the great unsung (or at ...
read moreJimmy Scott: Everybody's Somebody's Fool
On this new collection of career-launching sides, Jimmy Scott primarily deals with two main issues: the fool and Fortune. While Scott was often made to play the former thanks to the development-stunting condition that the latter foisted upon him, he has enough conviction and strength (both vocally and otherwise) to deliver a star-making performance. From the opening horn punch of the collection’s title track, Scott is demanding attention be paid despite his diminutive size. This attention is rewarded with an ...
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