When you think of clarinet players, the names Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Buddy DeFranco usually come to mind, and the conversation quickly dies. Most people forget that there was another artist who was big on the licorice stick, but he took a couple turns and became fairly obscure after doing some amazing work on his own and with Billie Holiday.
Tony Scott was captured by the spell of Charlie Parker’s bebop but never explored it as deeply as DeFranco. Here, he’s found in Germany after serving as Harry Belafonte’s musical director in 1957 and then there’s a swinging gig in Singapore from 1962. The first set has Scott with a sensitive team of Horst Jankowski/p, Peter Witte/b and Hermann Mutschler/dr and they serve Scott amazingly well. Scott’s got a sweet chocolaty tone that is rich in ebullience, and glows in the dark on “Moonlight In Vermont” while goes moody on a soft “You Go To My Head.” He shows his bop chops on a fiery “Lover Come Back to Me” which is filled with E ticket thrills, and a hip “Blues” is followed by an air raid attack of “A Night in Tunisia.” WOW
The Singapore gig has a different band and includes a rotating collection of horns and guitars. What’s constant is Scott’s indefatigable chops, which sizzles on “ All The Things you Are” and moans like a wimpering coyote on”Blues For Charlie Parker.” This is a guy that makes wood sound like Waterford Crystal. Get a hold of it!
ArtHaus Musik