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"Little" Jimmy Scott - jazz singer - Interview August, 1994 by Steven Garbarino
"Little" Jimmy Scott isn't so little anymore.
The legendary '50s torch singer with the fragile build, soft features, and supernatural feminine voice--the result of a hereditary condition called Kallman's Syndrome--is in the midst of a smoldering comeback. He's just released a new album of ballads and jazz standards entitled Dream (Sire/Warner Bros./Blue Horizon), the follow-up to his Grammy-nominated release All the Way (1992), and this month the sixty-nine-year-old singer is playing a series of shows at New York's Tavern on the Green. An evening with Jimmy Scott is more than a sentimental journey--it's a trip to the moon and beyond, a kind of out-of-body experience for both singer and audience.
STEVEN GARBARINO: You're basically doing what you've always done. So why were you suddenly rediscovered?
JIMMY SCOTT: Not long ago, you couldn't even find my records in stores. Some people thought I was dead. Today the climate is friendlier for singers like me and Tony Bennett--who I opened for last month-- and Johnny Cash: troubadours who have been in the business for years and have the stamina and the growth to survive. I think young listeners are in awe of us because they've never sat down and really concentrated on the art of the music. They've been too wrapped up in the boom-boom and the bam-bam of a lot of today's music. Dig? And now their tastes are maturing, and they're looking for something else.
SG: How much of your popularity has to do with the unsettling physical aura you exude, however unintentionally?
JS: Not too much, I hope. But people do have an attitude of curiosity toward me. They say, "This guy looks funny, he looks too young, he looks like a woman, but I can't be sure."
SG: I've heard that you're the only performer who can make Madonna cry.
JS: One of the waiters at Tavern on the Green told me that--that she said I'm the only one.
SG: You've had a tough life. Broken promises and record contracts, four failed marriages. Until several years ago, you were working as a shipping clerk at a hotel in your hometown, Cleveland. How did you handle it?
JS: I knew early on that my life was my music. And that has always been my sustenance and desire. Now I'm trying to help other people with their music careers by producing them.
SG: If you were asked, would you play Lollapalooza next year?
JS: Sure I would! For kicks, babe, for kicks. Fortunately, I have experience in traveling in the rough. I learned early on how to collaborate with all kinds of people and music. It's a great enjoyment for me, and I'd love to work with Madonna.
COPYRIGHT 1994 Brant Publications, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group s
Jimmy Scott On Nancy Wilson - Brief Article - Interview American Visions , Feb, 1996 by Eric K. Washington
Nancy Wilson names "Little" Jimmy Scott as the greatest influence on her singing. "The biggest," she calls him. "I never met him till recently, but I talked about him for years. And I didn't even realize he was from my home state, from Cleveland."
The 69-year-old Scott, who has spent a lifetime singing ballads about life, love and loss, has been credited by other singers--Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Stevie Wonder--with influencing their vocal styles. His recording career dates back to me 1950s, and he's still recording. Lured back into the studio after a brief hiatus a decade ago, Scott has released Dream (1994) and All the Way (1992) as part a five-album deal with Sire records. But devotees return to his hallmark recordings, They Say It's Wonderful (Tangerine, 1970) and The Source (Atlantic, 1970).
"He was believable," Wilson says. "He meant what he was singing. I liked the torch songs as a kid--and still do. I loved the way he phrased, the fact that he really sang a lyric."
Jimmy Scott's admiration for Nancy Wilson is mutual.
EKW: How did you meet Nancy Wilson?
JS: I happened to meet her in-California. I wrote [down] the lyrics to "When Did You Leave Heaven?" She had asked for them. At that time, she was just beginning her big contract with the record company. I had done a version of it in the 1950s, but she also did a version of it n the '60s, It was a Richard Whiting tune. I always thought that the words to that song had such great meaning.... That's how Nancy and I became acquainted.
EKW: Did the two of you ever sing together?
JS: They gave a surprise affair for her in New York at Aaron Davis Hall, and they asked me to pop in on her. And at that affair I think we did a verse each of that number.
EKW: What defines Wilson's appeal, which has allowed her to remain popular for so long?
JS: She has the power to make a Song linger with you and have a meaning. I think this is the gift that most singers that do affect the public have--to be able to let that essence of the song linger, lifelike, in people's minds. It's beautiful.
EKW: Wilson mentions that she wasn't aware, until recent years, that you both hailed from the same state.
JS: But you know, it's like you've always known each other. That's the great power of real show people, because when you meet, you know you've met, and you've been there before.
EKW: Is it true that Wilson helped you restart your career?
JS: Yeah, I had got this-engagement. She and Ruth Brown set up a beautiful welcome in California, [They] both did a lot of little things that. It's really encouraging to find that you have people in the business with such humanity. That's what call it.
COPYRIGHT 1996 Heritage Information Holdings, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
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Jimmy Scott & The Jazz Expressions Vicar Street , 10/16/ 99
"An emotional and unforgettable night from a legendary performer" Simon Carswell, The Irish Times, 10/19/99
"His recent appearance at Vicar Street will undoubtedly go down
as one of the live events of the year"
Colm O'Hare, Hot Press, 10/25/99
Jimmy Scott With the Jazz Expressions Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork , 3/17/ 01
"Part of Jimmy Scott's appeal lies in his longevity, of course. Now 76,
when he throws his arms out wide, one can only marvel,
partly at the sheer breadth of the gesture, but mostly at how anyone so
frail can remain standing without support.
While Scott has been happy to record the songs of contemporary
writers, like Prince and Elvis Costello, his repertoire tonight consists
almost entirely of jazz standards. 'All Of Me', 'Sweet, Embraceable You',
'Pennies From Heaven'; one love-song follows another,
each burnished to a benevolent gleam. Led by Hilliard Greene on bass,
the Jazz Expressions are as sensual and tight as a velvet glove.
The tragedies of Scott's life are well-chronicled by now:
the Kallmann's Syndrome that gave him his extraordinary voice also left
him with the body of a pre-pubescent boy, while the record company
that pushed him to early success then spitefully stifled his career
for 20 years. What is remarkable is how bright and upbeat he continues
to be,and how much pleasure he continues to derive from his calling."
Marc O'Sullivan. Hot Press. April 2001
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LITTLE JIMMY SCOTT
At Flushing Town Hall – June 20, 2003 By CHARWIN NAH
After many years of obscurity, LITTLE JIMMY SCOTT is now
enjoying the acclaim he so richly deserves. Mr. SCOTT 's
performance at Flushing Town Hall on June 20 was, in a word,
masterful. His phrasing and timing on the old standard,
“When Somebody Loves You”, was no less than superb.
His voice reveals a certain vulnerability and tells a
story as only JIMMY SCOTT can. In the words of
RAY CHARLES , "...his voice has a sadness which, if you're not
careful, will reduce you to tears." It is important to note that
JIMMY SCOTT sings about the emotions he has lived.
SCOTT 's delivery of “Blue Skies” gave further proof of his use
of timing. Always a beat slower than the band, SCOTT uses this
skill to his advantage when singing up-tempo jazz standards as
well as ballads. This skill was never more evident in his readings of
“I've Cried Over You” and “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child.”
No review of JIMMY SCOTT would be complete without mention
of his heartfelt delivery of “Everybody's Somebody's Fool”.
SCOTT has always had a love for the ballads that speak to desperate,
unrequited love. His performance of this song, his signature ballad,
came directly from his heart. In every song whispered by the voice
of JIMMY SCOTT there comes a certain wisdom that has come from
of life of disappointment. It is a testament to his sheer tenacity that
he now enjoys the fame he so richly deserves.
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“Jazz Books that give reference to Jimmy”
Here is a short paragraph from each of the following:
THE VIRGIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAZZ-Revered by the most knowledgeable jazz aficionados, Jimmy Scott's reputation as a unique vocal masters is assured, but his status definitely has not come easy.
THE ROLLOING STONE JAZZ AND BLUES GUIDE-If ever a Balladeer carried the unlearned, rule-defying and emotionally laden mystery and promise of great jazz singing, it would be Scott.
MUSIC HOUND JAZZ-Jimmy Scott is a hip enigma.
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