[Dixielandjazz] Tony Scott - redux

[Steve Barbone]

Most obits seem to be classifying Tony Scott mainly as a bebop clarinet and
making only passing references to his other musical accomplishments. Here is
a brief and disjointed list of other things he has done.

Studied with Stefan Wolpe - Graduated from Juilliard - Played free jazz in
mid 50's with Wolpe well before Ornette Coleman did - Played Dixieland at
the Metropole in NYC - Also Composer, Arranger, Orchestra Director -
excellent piano player as well as scat singer -

Besides playing with Kash's Band, Scott played with all the greats of the
'GOLDEN AGE OF JAZZ', including: Nat King Cole, Bobby Hackett, Dick Hyman,
Roy Eldridge, Trummy Young, Stuff Smith, Charlie Shavers, Sid Catlett, Ruby
Braff, Charlie Christian, Don Elliot, Georgie Auld, Errol Garner, Eddie
Safranski Buck Clayton, Billy Taylor, Sir Charles Thompson, Mundell Lowe,
Tommy Potter, Urbie Green, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, Billy Strayhorn,
Benny Green, Miles Davis, Freddie Green, Red Rodney, Al Haig, Teddy Kotick,
Art Tatum, Ben Webster, Kenny Clarke, Oscar Pettiford, Lester Young, Charlie
Parker, Dizzy, Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Dexter Gordon, Don Byas, Benny
Carter, Stan Getz, Bud Powell, Tiny Grimes, Milt Hinton, Jo Jones, Art
Blakey, Osie Johnson, Duke Jordon, Fats Navarro, Al Cohn, Kai Winding, J.J.
Johnson, George Duvivier, Louis Bellson, McCoy Tyner, Peggy Lee, Sarah
Vaughan, Chris Conner, Carmen McRae and Billie Holiday - for whom he was
clarinetist, pianist, arranger, and orchestra leader at Carnegie Hall
concert and on the original album, Lady Sings the Blues.

He played with numerous bands - Buddy Rich, Charlie Ventura, Earl Bostic,
Lucky Millinder, Benny Carter, Tommy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill, Duke
Ellington, and between '53 and '56 led the Tony Scott Big Bands and Tony
Scott Septet recording for Brunswick and RCA Victor . He's been musical
director for Harry Belafonte, arranging greatest hits such as Day-o and
Matilda - which were recorded for RCA with the Tony Scott Orchestra and
Chorus - and he was part of what was called 'Third Stream Music', playing
with The Modern Jazz Society and Modern Jazz Quartet Quartet led by John
Lewis and Gunther Shuller.

He led his own different quartets with musicians Milt Hinton, Dick Hyman,
Bill Evans, Paul Motian, Clark Terry, Sahib Shihab, Jimmy Knepper, Henry
Grimes, Dick Katz, Philly Jo Jones, Osie Johnson, Kenny Barrell, Winton
Kelly, Percy Heath, Mc Coy Tyner, Keith Jarrett. Some of those recordings
are still available.

Tony Scott was virtually unknown in the USA, yet he accomplished one hell of
a lot during his 86 years on earth.  He was an artistic genius true to his
own code until the very end. What more can a man do?

Memorial service at The Church of The Artists in Rome, followed by interment
in Sicily, his ancestral home.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone