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Tony Scott

A Jazz Life

Kind of Blue 10015

Those unfamiliar with the work of expatriate (he's based in Rome) US clarinettist Tony Scott (his most famous albums are the aids to yoga and meditation – and other non-specified joys – he issued decades ago) will no doubt be somewhat startled by his tone.

Like, say, Pee Wee Russell before him, he incorporates all his instrument's ostensibly 'non-legitimate' sounds into his playing – creaks, squeals, bleats and many more – and consequently can and does express anything from fierce joy to a species of bleary tenderness, plus most points between, in a series of extraordinary solos on staple fare.

Ellington material ('Caravan', 'Come Sunday', 'Satin Doll'), standards ('Summertime', 'You Don't Know What Love is', 'Body and Soul') and jazz classics ('Round Midnight', 'A Night in Tunisia'), plus a recited 'Lush Life' and a couple of originals (a spoken blues and a lively 'Nina's Dance') form this recorded set, in which he is assisted by musicians from Ravi Coltrane's sparky young band, but whatever he's playing, Scott is always unique and original, instantly indentifiable for his imaginative textures and harmonic adventurousness.

Tenorist Ben Wendel, sonorous and rich, provides a telling contrast, and there are some bright interventions from trumpeter Shane Endsley, but overall, the focus is very much on one of the music's genuine eccentrics, Scott himself. The audio CD is accompanied by a 30-minute DVD.