Cecil Scott (November 22, 1905 in
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...
– January 5, 1964 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
)
was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
clarinetist, tenor saxophonist, and bandleader.
Scott played as a teenager with his brother, drummer
Lloyd Scott. They played together as co-leaders through the end of the 1920s, holding residencies in Ohio,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, and in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
at the
Savoy Ballroom
The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem ...
. Among the members of this ensemble were
Dicky Wells
William Wells (June 10, 1907 or 1909 – November 12, 1985), known professionally as Dicky Wells (sometimes Dickie Wells), was an American jazz trombonist.
Early life
Wells was born in Centerville, Tennessee. Early in his life, he lived in Cent ...
,
Frankie Newton
Frankie Newton ( William Frank Newton; January 4, 1906 – March 11, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter from Emory, Virginia, United States. He played in several New York City bands in the 1920s and 1930s, including those led by Lloyd Scott, ...
,
Bill Coleman,
Roy Eldridge
David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...
,
Johnny Hodges
Johnny Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sop ...
, and
Chu Berry
Leon Brown "Chu" Berry (September 13, 1908 – October 30, 1941) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist during the 1930s. He is perhaps best known for his time as a member of singer Cab Calloway's big band.
According to music critic Gary Gidd ...
.
Cecil took full control over the group in 1929, though Lloyd continued to manage the group.
Scott was severely injured in the leg during an accident in the early 1930s, and his career was temporarily sidelined.
After his recovery he played with
Ellsworth Reynolds in 1932-33 and then with
Teddy Hill
Teddy Hill (December 7, 1909 in Birmingham, Alabama – May 19, 1978 in Cleveland, Ohio) was an American big band leader and the manager of Minton's Playhouse, a seminal jazz club in Harlem. He played a variety of instruments, including dr ...
(from 1936),
Clarence Williams, and
Teddy Wilson
Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive Swing music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...
(1936–37); in the latter gig he accompanied
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...
. In the early 1940s, he played with
Alberto Socarras,
Red Allen
Henry James "Red" Allen Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been described by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armst ...
,
Willie "The Lion" Smith
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Allen (basketball) (born 1949), American basketball player and ...
before assembling his own band in 1942, which at times included
Hot Lips Page
Oran Thaddeus "Hot Lips" Page (January 27, 1908 – November 5, 1954) was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader. He was known as a scorching soloist and powerful vocalist.
Page was a member of Walter Page's Blue Devils, Artie Sh ...
and
Art Hodes
Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), was a Russian-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist.
Biography
Hodes was born in Nikolaev, in the Russian Empire (now Myk ...
. He also played with
Slim Gaillard
Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 9, 1911 – February 26, 1991), also known as McVouty, was an American jazz singer and songwriter who played piano, guitar, vibraphone, and tenor saxophone. Gaillard was noted for his comedic vocalese singing ...
later in the 1940s.
In 1950, he disbanded the group, and worked with
Jimmy McPartland
James Dugald "Jimmy" McPartland (March 15, 1907 – March 13, 1991) was an American cornetist. He worked with Eddie Condon, Art Hodes, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, and Tommy Dorsey, often leading his own bands. He was married ...
as a sideman. He occasionally led groups and continued to play as a sideman up until the time of his death in 1964. He is credited on some 75 albums.
References
;Footnotes
;General references
*
Cecil Scottat
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
1905 births
1964 deaths
American jazz clarinetists
American jazz saxophonists
American male saxophonists
American jazz bandleaders
20th-century American saxophonists
Jazz musicians from Ohio
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
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