Gery Scott (5 October 1923 – 14 December 2005) was a

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 ...

and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

entertainer and teacher, whose performing career spanned 26 countries and over 60 years. She was noted for her powerful stage persona and engaging delivery, with material ranging from the songbooks of

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, to Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jewish parents, an ...

and all the "standards" as well as

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

and some pop material. Whilst she was well known to British audiences during the later part of the Second World War, she achieved most of her fame outside the UK.

Early life

Born Diana Geraldine Whitburn in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, in 1923 – a child of the ' Raj' – she made her first recording in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

for Indian Columbia in 1942 singing "Stormy Weather" accompanied by

Teddy Weatherford Teddy Weatherford (October 11, 1903 − April 25, 1945) was an American jazz pianist and an accomplished stride pianist. Biography Weatherford was born in Pocahontas, Virginia and was raised in neighboring Bluefield, West Virginia. From 191 ...

and his band. She then went on to work with various

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

bands in London including Harry Gold and His Pieces of Eight and The Vic Lewis Big Band. Scott also spent the war years with the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

entertaining the American Armed Forces in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and India. She was married three times: to the late World War II RAF pilot Pat Lofting (later personal pilot to the Raja of Bengal), to musical director and pianist Igo Fischer (now living in Germany) and finally, to oil magnate Tony Diamond, who was murdered in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1986.

Fame in the Eastern Bloc

From 1950 to 1957, she toured Europe performing with such artists as

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) 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 roo ...

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

and

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

. This tour led to a recording contract with Czech-based

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. Th ...

, during that time she recorded from 1957 to 1960 eighty titles, released as either albums or singles, accompanied by orchestras under the direction of

Gustav Brom Gustav Brom (22 May 1921 – 25 September 1995) was a Slovaks, Slovak-Czechs, Czech big band leader, arranger, clarinetist and composer. He achieved fame in Europe and abroad from the 1940s right through to his death in 1995. He worked prolifical ...

Karel Vlach Karel Vlach (8 October 1911, in Prague – 26 February 1986, in Prague) was a Czech dance orchestra conductor and arranger. He founded his first orchestra in 1938. Many important composers, instrumentalists and arrangers of the Czech jazz scene g ...

and Dalibor Brazda, with some arrangements written by her musical director and pianist, Igo Fischer. Scott was the first Western jazz singer to tour the then Soviet Union, selling over three million records there in 1961 and was invited to sing "How High the Moon" during her concert at the Kiev Opera House, to coincide with the launch in 1961 of the

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (, , ''Satellite 1''), sometimes referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space progra ...

flight that would see

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

as the first human in space. Scott married her musical director, Igo Fischer at the British Embassy in Moscow that same year. Her Russian activities created headlines in Britain and saw her included in the BBC Panorama episode on Moscow.

Parlophone

In 1962,

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

manager

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

signed her to

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

, with hits including "This is Life", "The Dum de de Dum Song", "Summer Love" and "Stay With Me" (allegedly a plagiarized version of a Georgian song "Tbiliso". Music written by Revaz Lagidze in 1958). Later that year she moved to Hong Kong and opened her own recording company, Orbit Records. That same year, she was appointed entertainment director for the Hilton Hotel Far East Chain and from 1966 to 1970 managed the Cats Eye and The Eye nightclubs in Bangkok and Singapore.

Australia

Scott moved to Australia in 1980 and continued to perform to jazz and cabaret audiences in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. She appeared as "Alice" in the Australian television

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'' in 1983. She was twice the recipient of the coveted Canberra Critics Circle Award, firstly in 1992 for her production of the CD ''Together'' by The Vocal Group and for her outstanding performances in ''Gery Scott Sings Mostly Coward'' and ''Particularly Porter'' at Queanbeyan's School of Arts Café, and then again in 2005 for services to entertainment and to teaching. 2002 marked her 60th anniversary in show business. Scott attained a Masters in Music from the Canberra Institute of the Arts in 1998, where she had been head of the Vocal Jazz Department since 1985. She retired from that position at the end of 2002. One of her greatest achievements at the institute was the formation of the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, as well as the training of hundreds of students in singing and performance technique, many of whom are now well established in the Australian and international jazz scene.

Final performances

Her final performances included the 2003 Sydney Cabaret Convention where she received two standing ovations for her performances of the jazz anthem "Something Cool" and

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

's "Send in the Clowns". Dr David Schwartz, writing for Cabaret Hotline Online said in his review, "It is hard to describe her to you without sounding as if I were a little bit insane. Her performance provided me with one of those life-changing and totally defining cabaret experiences that was instantly committed to memory, along with my first exposure to

Mabel Mercer Mabel Mercer (3 February 1900 – 20 April 1984) was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned ...

Julie Wilson Julie May Wilson (October 21, 1924 – April 5, 2015) was an American singer and actress widely regarded as "the queen of cabaret". She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1989 for her performance in ''Leg ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Sylvia Syms Sylvia May Laura Syms (6 January 1934 – 27 January 2023) was an English stage and screen actress. Her best-known film roles include '' My Teenage Daughter'' (1956), '' Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA ...

and a host of other greats. Gery Scott's set represented that rare moment in cabaret when the singer and her song are indistinguishable. This sort of alchemy comes only after many years; to witness it is to be blessed". She was also special guest in a 2003 Sondheim review, and two fund raising concerts for fellow performers in 2004. Her last major expose was in the form of a biographical essay in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' magazine, 18 & 25 August 2003 entitled "The Jazz Singer", by Larissa MacFarquhar. At the age of 82 and in a wheelchair, Scott gave her very last performance on 9 October 2005 at the

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...

Hotel Canberra, accompanied by her longtime pianist in Australia, Tony Magee, where her wish to do 'just one more gig' was ably delivered with a sparkling opener of ''Got A lot Of Livin' to Do'', and later in the concert, with pianist Wayne Kelly, a moving version of ''Body And Soul''.

Death

Gery Scott was diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2005. She died at Clare Holland House Hospice, Canberra, Australia, on 14 December 2005.

The music continues

In September 2006, Czech recording label ''Producentské centrum Františka Rychtaříka'' released the CD ''Gery Scott & Gustav Brom'', a reissue of selections recorded by

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in 1957. In 2011, Supraphon released two Gery Scott albums on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

: ''Gery Scott – Old Devil Moon'' and ''Anglicky zpiva Gery Scott'' (Gery Scott sings in English).

Discography

''78 rpm discs'' * "Stormy Weather" 1942 ''LP records'' * ''Anglicky Zpívá Gery Scott'' – 1959 (export releases under titles: Hit Parade (Listening To Gery Scott) and Let Us Dance) * ''Modern Jazz Studio No 1'' 1964 (as guest) * ''Modern Jazz Studio No 1/2'' 1986 (as guest) ''EP / 45 rpm'' * "Sings Cole Porter" 1950s * "Sings..." 1950s * "And Gustav Brom Vol 1" 1950s * "Supraphon Plays" 1958 * "And Gustav Brom Vol 2" 1950s * "Your Charleston" 1950s * "Dixie and Charleston" 1950s * "Sings with Karel Vlach Orchestra" 1957 * "Sings New Songs with Karel Vlach Orchestra" 1957 * "This is Life" / "The Dum de Dum Song" 1961 * "Summer Love" / "Stay With Me" 1961 * "Sings Hong Kong" / "

What Kind of Fool Am I What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an English interrogative word * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film), also known as ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * ...

" 1962 * "Hit Parade Dance Songs" 1960s * "Listening to Gery Scott II" 1960s * "With Gustav Brom Orchestra" 1960s * "Jeepers Creepers" 1960s * "Ain't Misbehavin'" 1960s * "Come Dance With Me" 1960s * "Sings Charleston" 1960s * "Gery Scott Sings" 1960s * "Sings Songs You like" 1960s ''CD's'' * A Lot of Livin' 1998 * Gery Scott &

2006 ''iTunes releases'' * Anglicky zpiva Gery Scott 2011 * Gery Scott – Old Devil Moon 2011

External links

Cabaret Hotline Online Review 2003

City News Obituary

National Film and Sound Archive Obituary

Middle Eight Music

2006 CD reissue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Gery 1923 births 2005 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Australia Deaths from cancer in the Australian Capital Territory 20th-century English singers 20th-century English women singers British people in colonial India British emigrants to Australia