Shirley Scott (March 14, 1934 – March 10, 2002) was an
American hard bop and soul-jazz organist. She was best known for working with
her husband, Stanley Turrentine, and with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, both
saxophonists. She was known as "Queen of the Organ”.
Shirley Scott was a leading figure in one of the most popular of all jazz movements, the off-shoot of hard bop known as soul jazz. The style was led by Hammond organ players like Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff, and although her initial ambition was to succeed on piano, Scott established her reputation on the Hammond B3 alongside these titans.
She developed her own distinctive approach to the
instrument. Despite her slight build, she was a powerful player, but one who
liked to emphasise subtlety and control over the outright excitement favoured
by many exponents of the style. That was evident in both her inventive soloing
and in her probing, suggestive accompaniments behind the many saxophonists she
worked with over her career.
She was born into a family with strong roots in jazz. Her
father ran a jazz club in Philadelphia, and her brother played saxophone. She
learned piano at school, and took up trumpet as a second instrument for a time.
She took both bachelor and masters degrees at Cheyney University, one of the
longest established African-American institutions in the USA, and later taught
there.
Her career as a musician took off when she bowed to
pressure from promoters and switched from piano to the newly popular Hammond
B3. She worked with a local band in 1955 which included John Coltrane, then on
the cusp of emerging as the most important jazz creator of his generation.
When saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis found
himself short of an organ player in the city, he overcame his initial doubts
about having a woman in his band and hired Scott. He was quickly won over, and
she enjoyed a successful stint with the hard-hitting saxophonist, including
recording the classic sessions released as The Eddie Davis Cookbook, but left
the band in 1960.
She married another saxophonist, Stanley Turrentine,
shortly afterwards, and they worked together a great deal over the decade of
their marriage, occasionally hiding behind barely disguised pseudonyms like
"Little Miss Cott" on each other's records, for contractual reasons.
She made her recording debut as a leader with Great
Scott! for Prestige in 1958, and recorded regularly for a variety of labels in
the next two decades, including Prestige, Impulse and Atlantic. She worked with
saxophonists Oliver Nelson (in a big band setting), Harold Vick, Jimmy Forrest,
and Dexter Gordon, and trombonist Al Grey, among others.
The Hammond fell out of fashion for a time in the 1970s,
and she returned to her original choice of instrument, the piano. The big
revival of interest in the Hammond from the late-1980s restored interest in her
music, but she rarely performed on the organ again, preferring to stay with
piano. Her final recording, Walkin' Thing, was released in 1996.
She took up a post teaching jazz history and piano at Cheyney
University in 1991, and served as musical director for Bill Cosby's short-lived
television quiz show You Bet Your Life, which was recorded in her home city of
Philadelphia.
Her health began to fail after using the now banned diet
drug combination "fen-phen", which she began taking in 1995. By 1997
she had developed primary pulmonary hypertension as a result of the drugs, and
was permanently bed-ridden. She sued the manufacturer and the prescribing
doctor, and was awarded a settlement of 8 million dollars in 2000. (Info from
jazzhouse.org)
1 comment:
For “Shirley Scott - Girl Talk (1967)” go here:
http://www14.zippyshare.com/v/aCA68Uw5/file.html
1. Girl Talk 4:55
2. Come Back To Me 3:07
3. We'll Be Together Again 3:40
4. Love Nest 3:13
5. Swingin' The Blues 3:55
6. Keep The Faith, Baby 3:45
7. Chicago, My Kind Of Town 4:45
8. On The Trial (From "Grand Canyon Suite") 3:42
9. You're A Sweetheart 3:30
Shirley Scott — Hammond b-3
George Duvivier - bass
Mickey Roker – drums
Sweet 60s grooves from Shirley Scott - really working the Hammond organ here with a wonderful sound - that warm, lean, soulful groove she hit perfectly at Impulse Records! There's a clarity here you don't get on some of Shirley's other records - a really stripped-down sound on the keys, which makes for playful lines that really sparkle - the kind of class and care that really set Scott apart from other 60s organists! Rhythm is nice and tight - bass from George Duvivier, and the great Mickey Roker playing some nice snapping, dancing drums - and tracks are short and compact, but still with some nice solo moments.
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