Shirley Scott (March 14, 1934 – March 10, 2002) was an American jazz organist. Her music was noted for its mixture of

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

elements. She was known by the nickname "Queen of the Organ".

Life and career

Scott was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Her father operated a jazz club in the basement of the family home and her brother played saxophone. At the age of eight, Scott began taking piano lessons. After enrolling at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, where she was awarded a scholarship, Scott switched to playing trumpet and performed in the all-city schools band. She received bachelor and master's degrees at Cheyney University in Cheyney, west of Philadelphia. Later in life, Scott returned to the university as a teacher. As a performer in the 1950s, she played the

Hammond B-3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created from rotat ...

. Her recordings with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis included the hit " In the Kitchen". Influenced by gospel and blues, she played

soul jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including sa ...

in the 1960s with

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...

, who became her husband during the same decade; the couple divorced in 1971. Although organ trios declined in popularity during the 1970s, they resurged in the 1980s and she recorded again. In the 1990s, she recorded as pianist in a trio and performed at venues in Philadelphia.

As a band leader

Scott's success in the industry led her to her own recording with ''Prestige''. Her first album as a bandleader was '' Great Scott!'', released in 1958. She performed with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Arthur Edghill, as the head of the trio. The album consisted of a mix of blues and soul tunes with covers such as 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 ...

's " All of You", and Latin-influenced tunes and up-tempo burners and ballads with songs such as "

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

" and "Nothing Ever Changes My love For You". Other notable covers include

Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 3 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United S ...

's "

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

" and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

's " Four", and her own track "The Scott". Scott strategically chose to have a bassist in her recordings instead of a typical melodic instrument, to allow herself full freedom to explore the organ. Laying a bass foundation allowed her to stand out with the solo and melodic sections as an organist. Despite Scott's undeniable talent and strategic performance as a musician, she struggled to be taken seriously as a musician, especially in a male-dominated industry. In the linear notes for her original release, comments such as: "Shirley Scott is a girl. At the organ she does a man-sized job." However, Scott continued to thrive in her work and released a second album '' Shirley's Sounds'' soon after and small group albums such as 1959's '' Soul Searching'' and 1960's '' Soul Sister''. Across her lifetime, she led multiple small group line-ups showcasing her passion for music.

As an educator and entrepreneur

Scott took an interest in the business and academia side of jazz, as she taught jazz history and piano at Cheyney University, Pennsylvania, also receiving a bachelor of arts (B.A.) and a master of arts (M.A.) degree. She also received two Fellowships from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

that helped further her academic career. In 1992–1993, she also appeared on the television show '' You Bet Your Life''. She was recruited as a musical director by

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

, who had first heard her in clubs in the 1950s. She also spent her time as a church choir director.

Personal life

Shirley Scott was married to Davis for a number of years, contributing to significant collaborations in music (cite). After her fallout with Davis in 1960, she married the well-known saxophonist

, whom she met on a gig in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. They married in 1961 and collaborated on many records including '' Common Touch'', and '' Girl Talk''. After her second marriage, Scott continued to tour and recorded over 50 albums. Additionally, Scott had five children, two sons from her first marriage and three daughters from her second marriage.

Instrument and style

Scott was a master of the Hammond B3 organ and was well known for her skillful playing and melodic tunes. However, she did not always start out as a professional organist. Born into a musical family, she was bound to play an instrument. At a young age she played the piano and later played the trumpets during high school. She was skilled in piano and in the mid 1950s she would play piano with

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

's nightclub. One day a club owner needed her to fill in the role of an organist and Scott took the role, crafting her signature sound almost immediately. In 1955, she switched over to the organ and collaborated with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, gaining national recognition. One of her first known hits into the jazz charts was for the ''Cookbook'' album with saxophonist Eddie Davis. She emphasized feeling inspired by Eddie Davis and Jimmy Smith. She stated: "Davis and Smith were truly the first two organists who inspired me to pick up the instrument" Amorosi. Scott brought a fresh new perspective and feel to the B-3’s sounds, making it sound "less heavy" and more "heavenly" and "light touch" (cite). Scott's playing demonstrated a combination of highly rhythmic bebop harmonies and lyrical touch to the B-3 sounds. However, her "deeply-felt" understanding of the blues and gospel set her apart from other organ players as a remarkable organist. In her later albums under the Cadet label, including '' Mystical Lady'' (1971), '' Lean on Me'' (1972), and ''

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

'' (1973) she explored different rhythms and applied funky jazz to pop and R&B tracks. Scott’s style expresses her versatility as a musician and ability to challenge the status quo of jazz music.

Death

Scott won an $8 million settlement in 2000 against

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, the manufacturers of the diet drug

fen-phen The medication, drug combination fenfluramine/phentermine, usually called fen-phen, is an anti-obesity medication that is no longer widely available. It was sold in the early 1990s, and utilized two anorectics. Fenfluramine was marketed by Americ ...

. She died of heart failure in 2002'Organ queen' Shirley Scott dies". March 13, 2002. '' New Pittsburgh Courier''. at Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia.

Legacy

Scott was a leading figure in the jazz movement for hard pop known as soul jazz. While artists such as Jimmy Smith or

Jack McDuff Eugene McDuffy (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. He was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz ...

may be more commonly known when discussing the Hammond B3 organ, Scott crafted her own interpretation and had a unique approach on the organ. In a mostly male-dominated industry Scott was not afraid to experiment with the instrument and helped bring a new sense of appreciation of the organ to the jazz world.

Discography

As leader

* 1958: '' Great Scott!'' (

Prestige Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...

) * 1958: '' Scottie'' (Prestige) * 1959: '' Scottie Plays the Duke'' (Prestige) * 1959: '' Soul Searching'' (Prestige) * 1958–60: '' Shirley's Sounds'' (Prestige) - released 1961 * 1958–60: '' The Shirley Scott Trio'' (Moodsville) * 1960: '' Soul Sister'' (Prestige) - with Lem Winchester; released 1966 * 1960: '' Mucho, Mucho'' (Prestige) - with The Latin Jazz Quintet * 1960: '' Like Cozy'' (Moodsville) - released 1962 * 1961: '' Satin Doll'' (Prestige) - released 1963 * 1958–61: '' Workin''' (Prestige) - released 1967 * 1960–61: ''

Stompin' ''Stompin'' is an album by organist Shirley Scott recorded in 1961 (with one track from 1960) and released on the Prestige Records, Prestige label in 1967.Payne, DShirley Scott discographyaccessed June 29, 2012 Reception The Allmusic review awar ...

'' (Prestige) - released 1967 * 1961: '' Hip Soul'' (Prestige) - with Stanley Turrentine * 1961: '' Blue Seven'' (Prestige) - with

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signi ...

, Joe Newman; released 1966 * 1961: '' Hip Twist'' (Prestige) - with Stanley Turrentine * 1961: '' Shirley Scott Plays Horace Silver'' (Prestige) * 1962: '' Happy Talk'' (Prestige) - also released as ''Sweet Soul'' in 1965. * 1963: '' The Soul Is Willing'' (Prestige) - with

* 1963: '' Drag 'em Out'' (Prestige) * 1963: '' Soul Shoutin''' (Prestige) - with Stanley Turrentine * 1964: '' For Members Only'' ( Impulse!) - with Oliver Nelson * 1964: '' Travelin' Light'' (Prestige) - with

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige Records, Prestige, Blue Note, Verve Records, Verve, CTI Records, CTI, Muse Records, Muse, and Concord Records, Conco ...

* 1958–64: '' Now's the Time'' (Prestige) - released 1967 * 1964: '' Blue Flames'' (Prestige) - with Stanley Turrentine * 1964: '' Great Scott!!'' (Impulse!) - with Oliver Nelson * 1964: '' Everybody Loves a Lover'' (Impulse!) - with Stanley Turrentine * 1964: '' Queen of the Organ'' ive(Impulse!) - with Stanley Turrentine * 1965: '' Latin Shadows'' (Impulse!) - with Gary McFarland * 1966: '' On a Clear Day'' (Impulse!) * 1966: '' Roll 'Em: Shirley Scott Plays the Big Bands'' (Impulse!) - with Oliver Nelson * 1966: '' Soul Duo'' (Impulse!) - with

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948� ...

* 1967: '' Girl Talk'' (Impulse!) * 1968: '' Soul Song'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

) - with Stanley Turrentine * 1969: '' Shirley Scott & the Soul Saxes'' (Atlantic) - with

King Curtis Curtis Montgomery (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musi ...

Hank Crawford Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist, pianist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was musical director for ...

David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s an ...

* 1970: ''

Something Something may refer to: Philosophy and language * Something (concept) * "Something", an English indefinite pronoun Music Albums * ''Something'' (Chairlift album), 2012 * ''Something'' (Shirley Bassey album), 1970 * ''Something'' (Shirley Scot ...

'' (Atlantic) * 1971: '' Mystical Lady'' (

Cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

) * 1972: '' Lean on Me'' (Cadet) * 1973: ''

'' (Cadet) - with Richard Evans * 1974: '' One for Me'' ( Stata East) - with Harold Vick,

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

* 1978: ''The Great Live Sessions'' (ABC/Impulse!) LP- with Stanley Turrentine; recorded 1964 * 1989: ''

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

) * 1991: '' Great Scott!'' (Muse) * 1991: '' Blues Everywhere'' ( Candid) * 1991: '' Skylark'' (Candid) * 1992: '' A Walkin' Thing'' (Candid) - with Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield * 2023: ''Queen Talk: Live at the Left Bank'' (Reel To Real/Cellar Music Group) - recorded 1972

LP/CD compilations

* 1969: ''The Best of Shirley Scott With Stanley Turrentine'' (Prestige PR 7707) * 1970: ''The Best of Shirley Scott With Stanley Turrentine/For Beautiful People'' (Prestige PR 7773) * 1993: ''Workin' '' (Prestige) (compilation of ''Workin' '' + ''Stompin' '') * 1994: ''Soul Shoutin' '' (Prestige) (compilation of ''The Soul Is Willing'' + ''Soul Shoutin' '') * 1998: ''Legends of Acid Jazz: Shirley Scott'' (Prestige) (compilation of ''Hip Soul'' + ''Hip Twist'') * 1998: ''Stanley Turrentine & Shirley Scott: Priceless Jazz'' (GRP) (includes 3 tracks from Scott's ''Queen of the Organ'' and 5 tracks from Turrentine's ''Let It Go'', both originally on Impulse!) * 1999: ''Soul Sister'' (Prestige) (compilation of ''Soul Sister'' + ''Travelin' Light'') * 2001: ''Like Cozy'' (Prestige) (compilation of ''The Shirley Scott Trio'' + ''Like Cozy'') * 2001: ''Shirley Scott: Talkin' Verve'' (Verve) (includes tracks from 9 albums: Impulse! AS-9051/AS-9067/AS-9073/AS-9093/AS-9115/AS-9119/AS-9133/AS-9141 and Cadet CA-50009) * 2003: ''Shirley Scott Memorial Album (1958–1964)'' (Prestige) * 2004: ''Trio Classics, Vol. 1'' (Prestige) (compilation of ''Great Scott!'' + ''Shirley's Sounds'')

As sidewoman

With

* 1961: '' Dearly Beloved'' ( Blue Note) * 1963: '' Never Let Me Go'' (Blue Note) * 1963: '' A Chip Off the Old Block'' (Blue Note) * 1964: '' Hustlin''' (Blue Note) * 1966: ''

Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film '' Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. The song was performed in its original show ...

'' ( Impulse!) * 1968: '' Common Touch'' (Blue Note) With Mildred Anderson * 1960: '' Person to Person'' (Bluesville) With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis * 1956–57: ''Jazz With A Beat'' (

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

) * 1957: '' Count Basie Presents Eddie Davis Trio + Joe Newman'' (

Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

) * 1958: '' Eddie Davis Trio Featuring Shirley Scott, Organ'' (Roulette) * 1958: '' The Eddie Davis Trio Featuring Shirley Scott, Organ'' ( Roost) * 1958: '' The Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Cookbook, Vol. 1'' (Prestige) * 1958: '' Jaws'' (Prestige) * 1958: '' The Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Cookbook, Vol. 2'' (Prestige) * 1959: '' Very Saxy'' (Prestige) - with Buddy Tate,

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

Arnett Cobb Arnett Cleophus Cobb (August 10, 1918 – March 24, 1989)
accessed July 2010. was an American tenor saxophonist, somet ...

* 1959: '' Jaws in Orbit'' (Prestige) * 1959: '' Bacalao'' (Prestige) * 1960: '' Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis with Shirley Scott'' (Moodsville) * 1961: '' The Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Cookbook Volume 3'' (Prestige) - recorded 1958 * 1963: ''

Misty In cryptography, MISTY1 (or MISTY-1) is a block cipher designed in 1995 by Mitsuru Matsui and others for Mitsubishi Electric. MISTY1 is one of the selected algorithms in the European NESSIE project, and has been among the cryptographic tech ...

'' (Moodsville) - recorded 1959–60 * 1964: '' Smokin''' (Prestige) - recorded 1958 With Jimmy Forrest * 1978: ''Heart of the Forrest'' (Palo Alto) With

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

* 1982: ''American Classic'' ( Elektra/Musician) With Al Grey * 1977: ''Al Grey Jazz All Stars: Travelers Lounge Live'' (Travelers) * 1979: ''Al Grey/Jimmy Forrest Quintet: Live at Rick's'' (Aviva) With Joe Newman * 1958: '' Soft Swingin' Jazz'' (Coral) With

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...

* 1967: '' Every Day I Have the Blues'' (BluesWay) With Al Smith * 1959: '' Hear My Blues'' (Bluesville)

References

External links

* *
Shirley Scott
discography by Doug Payne

discography at Jazzlists * – last filmed public performance playing with Joey DeFrancesco at an organ summit in her honor in 1999
Shirley Scott
obituary by ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

''. Retrieved July 4, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Shirley 1934 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American keyboardists 20th-century American organists 20th-century American women musicians American jazz organists American jazz pianists American music educators American women jazz pianists American women keyboardists American women music educators American women organists Hard bop organists Impulse! Records artists Jazz musicians from Philadelphia Jazz musicians from Pittsburgh Muse Records artists Prestige Records artists Soul-jazz organists Strata-East Records artists