“Like his old friend Billie Holiday, Scott has
a gift for communicating the essence
of a lyric”–Boston Globe

Jimmy Scott is the ultimate soul survivor, a haunting jazz crooner whose influence filtered through American music long before he attained late-career recognition as a jazz treasure. At 83, his sense of time remains impeccable, and he is a master storyteller who turns each song into a harrowing emotional journey. Melody Gardot’s career was born following a traumatic injury led her to take up songwriting, revealing a substantial talent. Her staggering debut album, Worrisome Heart, is “a soulful and seductive mix of jazz and blues” (JazzTimes).

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Jimmy Scott is the ultimate soul survivor, a haunting jazz crooner whose influence filtered through American music long before he attained late-career recognition as a jazz treasure. At 83, he is a master storyteller who turns each song into a harrowing emotional journey. His sense of time remains impeccable, and his ethereal tenor still floats above the rhythm section, each word unfurling at its own deliberate pace.

While Scott only flirted with fame during the prime of his career, his sound has influenced a diverse roster of artists, from Nancy Wilson and Ruth Brown to Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson. He got his big break in 1949 when he joined Lionel Hampton’s orchestra and scored his only hit, “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool.” While jazz masters like Charlie Parker, Milt Jackson and Billie Holiday adored him, Scott didn’t seem to fit in a jazz scene increasingly oriented toward hard bop. It wasn’t until his 1992 comeback album All the Way that Scott’s career revived, and he’s been singing for appreciative audiences ever since.

Melody Gardot’s career was born following a traumatic injury that led her to take up songwriting, revealing a substantial talent. A sultry 22-year-old singer with a knack for insinuating melodies, she released a staggering debut album, Worrisome Heart, which was hailed as “a soulful and seductive mix of jazz and blues” (JazzTimes).

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