I’m also happy that Jacques Emond, host of Swing in in the Air on CKCU-FM in Ottawa, Ontario included my CD among a list of his favourite Canadian recordings of 2009! Thanks Jacques!
Review from Japan:
過去作品も好評だったトロントの多忙なギタリストの、カルテットにホーン2者を加えた一作。ちょっとシブめの「燻し銀的ほのぼの感」をしっかりと底流させての、スイング、ビ・バップ、中間派、初期ウエストコースト調、といったスタイルによるレイジー・スモーキーな寛ぎセッションが、折り目正しく引き締まった物腰で結構キビキビと展開されてゆくテイスティー編。テーマ・アンサンブルには中々凝った音響設計意匠やチームワークの緊密さも発揮されつつ、大方は、あまり主役を特定しない群像劇的ジャム大会、風の和気あいあいとしたハートウォーミングなソロ・リレー合戦が決め込まれ、ギター者の、バップ初期を思わせるレトロな職人芸っぽいブルージー・アクションや、よりモダンでクールな趣味のいいラウンジ感覚のリラクゼーション技、がソロの一番手で洒落た魅力を放つ他、侘び寂めいた吟醸スイング派コルネット、純正ハード・バピッシュなテナー、粋なファンキー・フィーリングたっぷりのピアノ、らも各々スター性満点においしく見せ場を飾って、トントン拍子にイカせてくれる。
Another review from Japan:
Andrew Scott / Nostalgia (Sackville)
ジャケットといい、モノラルっぽい録音といい、演奏といい冒頭から乾いたミュートがまた、それっぽく、時間が止まったような時代調。題材に持ってくる曲もよく聴く曲ばかり。極めつけはアンドリュー・スコットの柔らかいギター・トーン。とことん好き者が集まったという、それはほんのりとして幸せな感じ。
Winner of the Best Jazz Artist of 2007 from the Toronto Independent Music Awards!
There is a nice article on me entitled “Jazz is just one of grad’s many cool hats” by Alex Keshen on page 62 of the September 2008 issue of the North Toronto Post.
From Canadian Musician Magazine (Volume XXIX No. 3)…”…there are a lot of good guitarists around these days including [Levon Ichkhanian, David Occhipinti, Andy Scott, and more" (Sonny Greenwich Page 50).
I've officially joined the rest of the world and I now have a myspace page. Here.
An article I contributed to on contemporary jazz from the National Post is here.
Review from Japan:
過去作品も好評だったトロントの多忙なギタリストの、カルテットにホーン2者を加えた一作。ちょっとシブめの「燻し銀的ほのぼの感」をしっかりと底流させての、スイング、ビ・バップ、中間派、初期ウエストコースト調、といったスタイルによるレイジー・スモーキーな寛ぎセッションが、折り目正しく引き締まった物腰で結構キビキビと展開されてゆくテイスティー編。テーマ・アンサンブルには中々凝った音響設計意匠やチームワークの緊密さも発揮されつつ、大方は、あまり主役を特定しない群像劇的ジャム大会、風の和気あいあいとしたハートウォーミングなソロ・リレー合戦が決め込まれ、ギター者の、バップ初期を思わせるレトロな職人芸っぽいブルージー・アクションや、よりモダンでクールな趣味のいいラウンジ感覚のリラクゼーション技、がソロの一番手で洒落た魅力を放つ他、侘び寂めいた吟醸スイング派コルネット、純正ハード・バピッシュなテナー、粋なファンキー・フィーリングたっぷりのピアノ、らも各々スター性満点においしく見せ場を飾って、トントン拍子にイカせてくれる。
From All About Jazz: August 2009 by Ken Dryden.
Guitarist Andrew Scott's guests on the 2008 session Nostalgia include Block (tenor sax and clarinet) and trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso, with his rhythm section of pianist Mark Eisenman, bassist Pat Collins and drummer Joel Haynes. The nine songs are mostly bop pieces based on the chord changes to familiar works. The sauntering treatment of Ben Webster's "Did You Call Her Today" (based upon Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone," itself was derived from "Rose Room") showcases Kellso's delicious muted horn and Block's full-bodied tenor. . There are also pieces now not often played, including a snappy treatment of Barney Kessel's intricate "Vicky's Dream" (see "All the Things You Are"), featuring Block's playful clarinet, and Gigi Gryce's driving "Salute to the Bandbox" (a thinly disguised "I'll Remember April"), with tight ensemble work and hot solos. Finally, Scott contributed the cool "Contrafact," inspired by "(Back Home Again in) Indiana," in which Block incorporates a bit of Pee Wee Russell-like dissonance into the foot-tapping chart.
A nice review of Nostalgia from Amazon....
5.0 out of 5 stars More Swinging Early Bop Delights, June 22, 2009
By John C. Graham
Dan Block's earlier recording for Sackville - Almost Modern: The Swing to Bop Project - set the table for this one. 'Nostalgia' concentrates on bebop tunes from the 40's that were based on the harmonies of popular songs. The nine numbers list Ben Webster, Tadd Dameron(2), Barney Kessel, Fats Navarro, Zaid Nasser, Charlie Parker, Gigi Gryce, plus the combined talents of Andrew Scott & Jake Wilkinson as the tunesmiths. Even if you can't recall the tune's title, you'll have heard it before in one form or another.
Andrew Scott is a Toronto academic and a fine jazz guitarist with three previous releases on the Sackville label. On this cd, he brings together an amazing Toronto rhythm section consisting of Joel Haynes on drums, Pat Collins on stand up bass, and Mark Eisenman on the piano. Dan Block's reeds, Andrew Scott's guitar, Mark Eisenman's piano and Jon Kellso's trumpet are the principal melody makers and soloists.
From the first notes of the first tune, you know you're hearing something special. Collins and Haynes are solid in their support throughout. They really dig in and capture the listener's attention with strong walking bass figures and a Cozy Cole shuffling bop feel to the drumming. It's a groove that is extremely potent. Another factor that provides a big plus is that the recording was made at Toronto's acoustically excellent Estonian Hall on June 5, 2008.
The soloists on this disc are remarkable. Dan Block sticks to tenor on all but two cuts where he displays his formidable clarinet technique. His tenor comes from the Don Byas, Lucky Thompson, Wardell Grey lineage. Kellso's trumpet playing reminds me of Roy Eldridge in places, Sweets Edison in others, with Navarro and Clifford Brown touches here and there. He's one of the most exciting and fluent trumpet players on today's scene. Mark Eisenman fits beautifully into the band. Everything he plays is tasteful and to the point whether soloing or comping. He never gets in the way and after numerous plays you'll recognise just how brilliant he is. Andrew Scott shows he can hold his own in fast company. I'm not going to guess where his influences lie, although Barney Kessel may be the big one. Suffice it to say that he is clearly a JAZZ guitarist.
This is a great CD. I've played it many times now, with and without company present. I've played it late at night and early in the morning. I've played it on the home system, the work system, and the discman portable system. It always sounds good and reveals more riches each time I hear it. Like Dan Block's previous release,'The Swing to Bop Project', this one is seriously recommended for the solid groove and exceptional musical contributions from everyone.
The Three Optimists At The Old Mill, Gene DiNovi, piano.
Any jazz listener worth his history books has experienced the majesty of the trios led by Art Tatum, Nat Cole and Oscar Peterson. All three of them were drummer-less, opting instead for piano, bass and GUITAR. And so it is with Gene DiNovi, a north of the border pianist now in his early 80’s who loves the golden era of songwriting in America. With fellow Canadians Andrew Scott on guitar and Dave Young on bass, DiNovi bestows his elegant piano stylings on us on treasured tunes. Some of the best include “So In Love,” “All Through The Night,” “Jump For Joy” and “The Song Is You.” Of special interest to the bop crowd is “I Got Rhythm.” After one chorus, DiNovi and company steer us into three bebop anthems, “Anthropology,” “Shaw ‘Nuff” and “Oleo.” All of this and more was recorded live before an appreciative audience at Toronto’s Old Mill Restaurant. One time through this CD and you’ll wish you had been there.
Sackville; 2007, 66:48.
From the Jazz Society of Oregon
George Fendel
From Jazz Journal:
Johnny Mercer was a words and music and song man whose closeness to jazz is reflected by the fact that so many of the compositions he helped to create (and frequently sang) became favour-ites with our favourites. His collaborators were always out of the top drawer as this selection underlines. Arlen, Schertzinger, Whiting and Mancini wee all among the beneficiaries of Mercer’s inspired lyrics. And he wasn’t such a bad composer either, witness Dream.
The set will serve as an introduction for many to the bright guitar lines of Andrew Scott, a 37-year old Canadian, who plays with immense clarity and conviction. He leads a very musiciaonlsy sextet here. Sandke and Murley make a closely attuned front line, and the rhythm section, led by pianist Bernie Senensky, provide cohesive backing. Two of the tunes, Lullaby for Mason and Blue Mercer (dedicated to Johnny, of course), are by Scott. On the former, penned for his son, Andrew switches to electric piano to provide a supportive cushion for Murley’s tenor, and through the technique of overdubbing, is able to take a guitar solo himself.
Have a heart is one of the most significant tracks, since it was composed by pianist Gene DiNovi, Scott’s current employer in the Three Generations Trio. In his notes for the CD, DiNovi describes this collaboration with Johnny Mercer as “one of the great moments in my life.” With a bunch of well turned arrangement, good solos all round and no shortage of swing, this is mainstream playing that will bring immense satisfaction to all who hear it. A significant leadership debut by a guitarist blessed with considerable ability.
Mark Gardner
From the North Toronto Post Magazine September 2008.
Andrew Scott has no problem admitting that, when he was a student at Leaside High School, he spent so much time playing the guitar that it left little time for other things—like science or math.
“I probably could have spent more time with the textbooks open,” admits the 37-year old. “But I found a way to get by.”
Twenty years after “getting by,” Scott, who now holds a PhD.in Musicology and Ethnomusicology, has recorded and released three jazz albums with Canadian label Sackville Records, is the editor of Coda Magazine and teaches music classes at three post-secondary institutions. Scott, who has, with the likes of jazz artists Diana Krall and Michael Buble, won several Canadian smooth jazz awards, began small.
“I was really involved in music at school,” Scott says. During his years at Leaside High School, he was always signing up for the battle of the bands competitions and talent shows and found himself writing music for high school events.
He says he owes a lot of his thanks to his high school music teacher, Andy Baracus, and the music program at Leaside, a program that has produced talents such as saxophone great Warren Hill and former I Mother Earth vocalist Edwin.
“He was a very inspiring guy who put me on a good path,” says Scott.
The rest, he owes to his parent’s tastes in music. “Listening to my parents Oscar Peterson records, that’s what really got me involved in music,” he says of their record collection—the one he took with him when he left their home.
“It’s pretty easy to be inspired by those great recordings form yesteryear, but I don’t’ think that I thought about making a career out of it.” That’s why he didn’t—at first.
After high school, Scott enrolled in Carleton University's journalism program, but found himself spending a lot more time playing music around Ottawa and soon decided to enrol in Humber College’s jazz program.
Carrying on with his musical education, Scott attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA and York University, the institution from which he earned his doctorate.
In 2004, Scott released his first solo album with Sackville, one of the oldest jazz labels in Canada.
“Just the fact that I’m associated with them, I’m quite proud of that,” he says.
Lately, Scott has been making his way around the summer jazz festival circuit and has been busy in the recording studio.
“In high school, I wouldn’t have imagined doing all the things that I’m doing now,” says the jazz musician. With all his years of recording experience, magazine editing, and performing under his belt, Scott has one question: “would it be cheesy to say that
I’m the most proud of having two great kids.”
The Globe and Mail
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Review Section
R9
ON THE STAND BY JAMES ADAMS
A WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF THE BEST MAGAZINE READS ON THE RACKS
CODA
May, 2008
There are longer-running music magazines in this world than Coda, which is marking its 50th anniversary this month. But those have been fuelled by commerce, whereas Coda has mostly been a labour of love fuelled by pizza, beer and other substances ever since an expat Brit named John Norris—he’s now in his mid-70s—got the wacky idea of publishing in Toronto (!) a periodical devoted to jazz and improvised music.
While Coda’s often lacked for resources, it’s never been short on integrity and seriousness. Think Kenny G is the best soprano sax player since Wayne Shorter? Go to another magazine for an affirmation of that view, young man. Indeed, it’s part of Coda lore that Norris was inspired to start his magazine after Downbeat, then the bible of the U.S. jazz scene, put Bobby Darin on its cover. The horror, the horror!
Coda—or CODA, as its boosters like to spell it—is a glossy now, published six times a year, and edited by scholar-musician Andrew Scott. The latest issue is an anniversary number, of course, with a gold cover, appropriately enough. As ever, there’s lotsa cool reading, including memoires by Norris and his long-time compadre, fellow Brit Brit Bill Smith. The pics are cool, too, especially one of a twentysometing Norris listening in on a conversation between Duke Ellington and his long-time compardre, Billy Strayhorn.
Bebop lives in the fluid technique of Toronto guitarist Andrew Scott, who holds fort at Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill tonight and tomorrow, 1254 Mackay St. Ex-Montreal trombonist Terry Lukiwski is also featured, with local stalwarts André White (piano), Dave Laing (drums) and Alec Walkington (bass). Tickets cost $17.50. Call 514-931-6808. (Irwin Block)
Herb Young
The IAJRC Journal
The Research Quarterly of The International Association of Jazz Record Collectors
Volume 40 No. 2—May 2007
The CD in question here is a tribute to Barney Kessel and what a marvelous one it is. Andrew Scot is one fine guitar player and also composer of two tunes on this outing, namely For Mindy and Blues for Sonny. Harry Allen is just one strong sax player who gets better with age and he is still young! He is present on all but two tracks. Jake Wilkinson, on the other hand, is present on only two tunes. He does a good job. There are no weak sisters in this combo. I was very impressed with the bass player and especially the couple of solo opportunities he is given. The rhythm section is solid. This is a swinging and straight ahead jazz session and that should appeal to just about all of our members. There is one exception in this hard swinging session and that is the last tune which is a guitar solo done with restraint and good taste. Mr. Scott sure gets a great sound out of his instrument. Most of the tunes are standards and readily identifiable. The group does not venture all that far away from the melody line but still inject freshness into each rendition. It is not hard to recommend this compact disc but especially to those who like a good solid mainstream sound. Sound quality is excellent and the entire packaging is first rate living up to the fine tradition we expect from Sackville.
Larry Hollis
Cadence: The Review of Jazz & Blues: Creative Improvised Music
Volume 33 No. 4
April 2007
Andrew Scott looks around the same age as Dave Goldberg but that’s where the similarity ends. He plays guitar (and doubles on the Fender Rhodes keyboard on one track) and, although rooted in the Bop tradition his guitaring contains Swing elements that can be traced back to mainstream players like Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel. In fact his last album was a salute to the latter and has the pianist Bernie Senensky once again on board. The frontline horns of Randy Sandke and Mike Murley are both well known and the high caliber of their playing is pretty much a given. As the title of the album suggests, this is a tribute to the great songsmith Johnny Mercer and eight of the ten number (the other two are originals from the guitarist) are his. Those two titles, “Blue Mercer” and “Lullaby for Mason” aren’t rude intrusions but it is doubtful they will be remembered or performed with the longevity of the Mercer compositions. Although not noted, I’m assuming the arrangements are by the leader and there are some neat little touches here and there. For example, “Too Marvelous for Words” ends with the line from Bird’s “Cool Blues,” the usually slow “Days of Wine and Roses” gets a tempo lift as does “This Time the Dream’s on Me” with a sixish drag worthy of Gypsy Rose Lee. All of the selections are ably described in Gene DiNovi’s astute liners. A tasteful tip-of-the-hat to that unforgettable gentleman from Savannah.
THE IAJRC Journal
Volume 40. No.1—February 2007
The Research Quarterly of The International Association of Jazz Record Collectors
An album devoted to the music of Johnny Mercer (save two originals “Lullaby for Mason” and “Blue Mercer”) is a fine approach to a very interesting mainstream CD. I must admit that Randy Sandke was the only musician familiar to me before hearing this session. That, however, is not in any way meant to be a negative statement. All of the players perform in fine fashion and create an hour plus of music that can be enjoyed time and time again. I really had no apprehension beforehand as John Norris and Sackville Records just do not produce a sub-standard product.
Some highlights—“Dream” is taken at a much faster tempo than the rendition that was so popular when it first appeared on the scene. The Pied Pipers really made this into a ballad. Not Scott and company. They make it into a nice piece of straight ahead jazz. The ballad in this set is “Lullaby for Mason.” There is a great deal of depth to the way they handle that one. The other tunes go along rather as one might expect but with feeling and interplay that leaves one with a very satisfactory impression of good art.
One would expect a good outing from Randy Sandke and he sure does not disappoint. Andrew Scott plays fine guitar. The real surprise for me was Mike Murley on saxophone, for he does yeoman service both in solo and in ensemble. The rhythm section is as solid as a church. A well recommended mainstream outing with some very nice Mercer.
Herb Young
CODA Magazine
May/June 2007
Issue 333
Page 31-32.
This is a relaxed and enjoyable session with loads of room for each of the quintet’s members. In addition to guitarist Scott, trumpeter Sandke and saxophonist Murley, the group is rounded out by Bernie Senensky on piano, Louis Simao on bass and drummer Joel Haynes—all are in strong, if laid back form.
Of the recording’s ten tracks nine are Johnny Mercer tunes written with various composing partners (including Harold Arlen and Henry Mancini) and one is a Scott original. There are no credits for arrangements leaving the conclusion that these are the product of Dr. Scott’s pen. These arrangements add an extra jump to each of the tracks and benefit from what is clearly a well-rehearsed group. There is an irresistible sense that these musicians enjoy playing together and do so often. Tunes like “Tangerine,” “My Shining Hour” and “The Days of Wine and Roses” all have an infectious joyousness that is so often missing in much of today’s contemporary, overly academic jazz; there is nothing here that is dry or cerebral. This is an album for top tapping. Of the band members, Sandke and Senensky shine. Murley is clearly coasting but there is enjoyment in this—he can play straight with the best of them and there is no discernable chaffing or frustration with this sessions standard confines. But it is Scott who truly stands out. He is generous with space for the other band members; his pulse is accurate and supportive throughout, and his solos are fleet, imaginative and free of stultifying clichés. The result is a sweet, swinging recording. A pleasure to listen to.
Nick Pitt
London Free Press Review of my concert at the Wolff Performance Hall on May 23rd 2007.
I have pretty much given up on ever hearing a decent drum solo at the John Labatt Centre. Last night, at the Wolf Performance Hall, I heard two — at once. (Good crowd at the Wolf, too).
Father and son team of Sandy MacKay and Ian MacKay were stellar in the 30 minutes or so I heard of the Andrew Scott (Toronto guitar ace, former UWO lecturer) Jazz for the People concert.
It was amazing to hear how the two MacKay styles complemented and interwove and intersounded and intercoursed (if these fine London musicians don't mind the term in a non-sexual sense) with each other. Lotta thudding at the JLC, by contrast — though that may be the assorted drummers there bashing away to fill an arena & it has never stopped the fans from loving them, each & every thump.
Sandy said afterward that he has worked in two drummer setups before — and sometimes it has not been a success. Last night proves that playing together as a lifelong project does pay off.
Andrew was amazing too — his long solo on Sidewinder, the last number, was great. He is teaching at Humber, York and Guelph and hopes to be back in London sometime in the fall.
Also fine were Toronto (?) trumpet player Jake Wilkinson and (St. Thomas?) bass (electric) player Kim Ladd.
Talked with Kim after, too, complimenting him for working in a touch of Sunshine of Your Love (all right!) into his Sidewinder solo — and often plays the Buddy Holly role in the Roy L tribute band and elsewhere.
The Jazz for the People series — organized by Sandy MacKay — is supported by the Music Performance Fund, administered here by the London Musicians' Association.
Go live music . . . for free, too.
CKDU Halifax 11-MAY-07
ARTIST TITLE LABEL
1 Mike Allen Quartet * Vancouver Pacific Music
2 Ken Aldcroft's Conve The Great Divide Trio
3 ZMF Trio * Circle The Path Drip Audio
4 Arkana Music * Hyprovisation Independent
5 Melanie E * Le Jazz a la Francaise Independent
6 Montreal Guitar Trio MG3 Banyan
7 Antoniuk/Jazz Update Here Today Independent
8 Andrew Scott Quinet* Blue Mercer Sackville
9 Various Artists * Dig Your Roots: Creative NCRA
10 Jeff Healey * Among Friends Stony Plain
CKDU Halifax 30-MAR-07
ARTIST TITLE LABEL
1 TFC * Rhizomatics Independent
2 Various Artists * Dig Your Roots: Creative NCRA
3 Sara Hamilton/David Let The Music Move You IFM
4 Lori Freedman * 3 Amb Magnetiques
5 Duane Andrews * Crocus Independent
6 Zap Mamma Adventures In Afropia Independent
7 Andrew Scott Quinet* Blue Mercer Sackville
8 Tim Brady * Go Amb Magnetiques
9 Frisell/Carter/Motia Frisell/Carter/Motian Nonesuch
10 Reveries * Live In Bologna Rat-Drifting
CFUV
Weekly Jazz Top 10
for the week of February 27, 2007
1. VARIOUS - Dig Your Roots: Creative Jazz (NCRA) *
2. THE REVERIES - Live In Bologna (Rat-Drifting) *
3. EXPLODING STAR ORCHESTRA - We Are All From Somewhere Else (Thrill Jockey)
4. MAHAVISHNU PROJECT - Return To The Emerald Beyond (Cuneiform)
5. OCTOBOP - Very Early (Mystic Lane)
6. ANDREW SCOTT QUINTET - Blue Mercer (Sackville) *
7. ZAPATO NEGRO - Zapato Negro (Cellar Live) *
8. NICK DIDKOVSKY - Tube Mouth Bow String (Pogus)
9. NIGHTCRAWLERS - Presenting... (Cellar Live) *
10. HUGH HOPPER - Hopper Tunity Box (Cuneiform)
Weekly Jazz Top 10
for the week of January 22, 2007
1. DRUMHELLER - Wives (Rat-Drifting) *
2. STEFON HARRIS - African Tarentella: Dances With Duke (Blue Note)
3. SIMON FISK - You and Yours (Plunger) *
4. BRIAN GRODER & THE SAM RIVERS TRIO - Torque (Latham)
5. ERNESTO CERVINI QUARTET - Here (Independent) *
6. ZAPATO NEGRO - Zapato Negro (Cellar Live) *
7. ANDREW SCOTT QUINTET - Blue Mercer (Sackville) *
8. TODD MARCUS JAZZ ORCHESTRA - In Pursuit Of The 9th Man (Hipnotic)
9. JOHN MEDESKI & MATTHEW SHIPP - Scotty Hard's Radical Reconstructive Surgery (Thirsty Ear)
10. LORI FREEDMAN - 3 (Ambiances Magnetiques) *
Weekly Jazz Top 10
for the week of January 15, 2006
1. JOHN MEDESKI & MATTHEW SHIPP - Scotty Hard's Radical Reconstructive Surgery (Thirsty Ear)
2. DRUMHELLER - Wives (Rat-Drifting) *
3. GORDON GRDINA'S BOX CUTTER - Unlearn (Spool) *
4. BRIAN GRODER & THE SAM RIVERS TRIO - Torque (Latham)
5. STEFON HARRIS - African Tarentella: Dances With Duke (Blue Note)
6. ANDREW SCOTT QUINTET - Blue Mercer (Sackville) *
7. KENNY DAVERN - No One Else But Kenny (Sackville) *
8. RUDREHS MAHANTHAPPA - Codebook (Pi)
9. KAHIL EL'ZABAR'S RITUAL TRIO featuring BILLY BANG - Big M: A Tribute To Malachi Favors (Delmark)
10. FRED STRIDE JAZZ ORCHESTRA - Forward Motion (Cellar Live) *
CD Reviews (January, 2007)
By George Fendel
Blue Mercer, Andrew Scott, guitar. Johnny Mercer lives on thanks to delightful musical tributes such as this one. Although Scott gets in his share of great guitar licks, he generously gives a lot of breathing room, both ensemble and solo wise, to his quintet members. They include Randy Sandke, trumpet ; Mike Murley, tenor sax; Bernie Senensky, piano; Louis Simao, bass and Joel Haynes, drums. Eight of the ten selections were outfitted with the "ultimate", lyrics by Johnny Mercer. On Dream, the tune that always ended high school dances of my era, Mercer wrote both melody and lyrics. The other two, Lullaby For Mason and Blue Mercer are attractive lines written by the guitarist. Mercer collaborated with nearly every leading composer of his time, and it shows here with the likes of Richard Whiting (Too Marvelous For Words); Harold Arlen (My Shining Hour and This Time The Dream‚s On Me; and Henry Mancini (Days Of Wine And Roses) to name just a few. Other collaboration with Johnny's lyrical imprint include Tangerine, Day In Day Out and Have A Heart. This is a program of stylishly swinging evergreens and especially fine solo work from Sandke and Murley, in addition to the leader's guitar. Mercer fans, pick this one up! Sackville, 2006; Playing Time: 61:14, ****.
I am pleased to say that Jacques Emond has named Blue Mercer one of the best records of 2006 on his CKCU-FM show: Swing is in the Air.
Jazz Chart for CFUV 101.9 MHz - Victoria
For the Week Ending: Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Rank Artist Title Label
1 Chris Tarry Group
Sorry To Be Strange Cellar Live
2 Drumheller
Wives Rat-Drifting
3 Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra
Forward Motion Cellar Live
4 John Medeski And Matthew Shipp
Scotty Hard's Radical Reconstructive Surgery Thirsty Ear
5 Jodi Proznick Quartet
Foundations Cellar Live
6 Jesse Zubot
Dementia Drip Audio
7 David S. Ware 4tet Balladware Thirsty Ear
8 Andrew Scott Quintet
Blue Mercer Sackville
9 Stefon Harris African Tarantella Blue Note
10 Tim Brady
Go Ambiances Magnetiques
I am honoured that the esteemed Montreal critic Len Dobbin has named Blue Mercer one of his top recordings of 2006. See below...
Len Dobbin’s “Best of 2006”
New releases – instrumental
Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Alumni Big Band
“Dizzy’ Business”
Jimmy Heath
“Turn On The Heath”
Dave Holland
“Critical Mass”
Keith Jarrett
“Carnegie Hall Concert”
Hank Jones – Frank Wess
“Hank & Frank”
Joe Lovano
“Streams of Expression”
Paul Motian
“Garden of Eden”
“On Broadway, Volume 4”
Ben Riley
“Memories of T”
Warren Vache
“Don’t Look Back”
New releases – vocal
Karrin Allyson
“Footprints”
Roberta Gambarini
“Easy To Love”
Sheila Jordan
“Believe In Jazz”
Nancy King
“Live at Jazz Standard”
Mark Murphy
“To Each Heart”
New – Canadian
Daniel Lessard
“Pas a Pas”
P.J. Perry
“Trio”
Andrew Scott
“Blue Mercer”
Fred Stride
“Forward Motion”
Joe Sullivan
“Big Band”
Don Thompson
“Ask Me Later”
Reissue – Historical
Pepper Adams
“Critics’ Choice”
Miles Davis
“Legendary Quintet Sessions” (box)
Don Ellis
“Essence”
Woody Herman
“My Kind of Broadway”
Warne Marsh
“Ne Plus Ultra’
Charlie Mariano
“A Jazz Portrait of an Artist”
Frank Sinatra
“Vegas!” (box)
I am honoured that Blue Mercer made the top 10 list of Jerry D'Souza's Jazz Journalist Association (Coda Magazine) for 2006. See here for his complete top ten list.
Blue Mercer
The Andrew Scott Quintet
Sackville SKCD2-2066
Review from Wholenote Magazine
Volume 12, No. 4.
December 01, 2006-February 07, 2007
Page 79
With the exception of two originals by the leader—a lullaby and a blues number—the program here is made up of songs written, in whole or in part, by the inimitable Johnny Mercer. The fine young guitarist Andrew Scott fronts a recording group that has Randy Sandke on trumpet, Mike Murley, tenor saxophone, Bernie Senensky, piano, Louis Simao, bass and Joel Haynes on drums. The band is tight enough to pass for a working group. Since the music is unrepentantly mainstream in style, it is interesting to hear how well the more forward-looking participants accommodate themselves.
The leader’s playing is a delight. Scott never hogs the spotlight but his buoyant pulse can be felt throughout. In his beautifully constructed solos one can hear the influence of Barney Kessel and Kenny Burrell. And traces of Wes Montgomery turn up in spots as well. But Scott is by no means a copyist. With his assured, yet relaxed, playing he has become his own man. His eminent sidemen are the icing on the cake. In the front line, Randy Sandke’s warm, brassy trumpet blends beautifully with Mike Murley’s agile tenor. And the rhythm team of Bernie Senensky (who, I must say, sounds completely at home in the swing setting), Louis Simao and Joel Haynes bring a ball-bearing mobility to the proceedings. Highlights include the Latin-tinged Tangerine, Have a Heart, This Time the Dream’s on Me, and Andrew Scott’s original, Blue Mercer.
Highly recommended.
Don Brown
From The Montreal Mirror
November 23-29th 2006
Volume 22. No. 23
Buck Clayton-Earl Hines All-Stars
Jazz From a Swinging Era (Lonehill Jazz/Trend)
Andrew Scott
Blue Mercer (Sackville/Trend)
Two fine examples of “mainstream” playing. The former’s a two-CD set from Expo year packed with, beside the leaders, the great players of that era, musicians like Roy Eldridge, Vic Dickenson and a second pianist in Sir Charles Thompson—27 tracks that will have your foot tapping. The latter is for the most part a tribute to songwriter Johnny Mercer, with guests Randy Sandke and Mike Murley adding much to the music laid down by the superb quartet, led by guitarist Andrew Scott with Bernie Senensky, Louis Simao and Joel Haynes. Recorded in Toronto in June 2005, this one keeps the “mainstream” flow alive—another foot-tapper! All-Stars 9.5, Scott 8.5/10 (Len Dobbin)
Sackville Recordings Newsletter
November 2006
Andrew Scott's second Sackville recording salutes the musical legacy of Johnny Mercer. Some of the greatest songs of the Twentieth Century were immortalised through Johnny Mercer's lyrics. This collection includes Too Marvelous for Words, My Shining Hour, Tangerine, Have a Heart, The Days of Wine and Roses and This Time the Dream's On Me. Andrew Scott's adroit arrangements are evocative of the kind of small group song interpretations so successful in the 78 era. As annotator (and well known pianist) Gene DiNovi notes "from the first note it sounds and feels good while being interesting, intelligent and technically fine. In taking the songs of Johnny Mercer as a springboard, I think Andrew sensed that J.M. was not only the most musical of lyricists, but he was also a great singer." Andrew assembled the same rhythm team heard on "This One's for Barney" (SK CD2-2062)--Bernie Senensky (piano), Louis Simao (bass) and Joel Haynes (drums)--and matched it with the trumpet of Randy Sandke and the tenor saxophone of Mike Murley. The level of sophistication evident in the imagination of the musicians is clearly heard here. Without any previous collaboartion the two horn players not only exectued all the nuanaces of the charts but added their own expressiveness to each tune. This is truly what jazz music is all about. DiNovi's summation hits the spot! "All in all I think this group, its guitarist leader and this Blue Mercer CD would be loved by our huckleberry friend. I can hear him saying, “They play and the angels sing.”
The Andrew Scott Quintet
Blue Mercer (Sackville)
October 19, 2006
The Toronto Star
What's On G11
Guitarist Scott has illustrious company here in the warm sounds of American trumpeter Randy Sandke and tenor saxist Mike Murley for a 10-cut album mostly devoted to classic songs written or co-written by Harold Arlen. Murley in basic swing territory may be an anomaly today but he more than holds his own, while pianist Bernie Senensky is a chameleon stylist comfortable everywhere. The pulse team of bass Louis Simao and drummer Joel Haynes works efficiently and the leader shows off a keen ear both for melody and buoyant rhythm, mindful of a Kenny Burrell or Barney Kessel. "My Shining Hour," "Have a Heart" and "Day in Day Out" induce superlative playing and Scott's title track brews nicely. (The album's official release is Saturday afternoon at The Pilot). Geoff Chapman
Liner notes to Blue Mercer by Gene DiNovi.
Musicians by and large are an opinionated group. Ironclad approaches to our conception of musicianship (particularly in jazz) come into play automatically as we listen.
Does the person or group we are hearing:
A) Say something? Or to quote Lester Young “tell us a story.”
B) Does it swing? To many it don’t mean a thing if it don’t!
C) Does the player show an interesting melodic and harmonic language etc?
I could go on, but let me spare you since I’m sure you get the point.
Occasionally one comes across a new CD that instantly wipes away the necessity for such questions before they start. My feeling is Blue Mercer, a new Andrew Scott CD, accomplishes this for one simple reason: from the first note it sounds and feels good while being interesting, intelligent and technically fine. In taking the songs of Johnny Mercer as a springboard, I think Andrew sensed that J.M. was not only the most musical of lyricists, but he was also a great singer. This somehow comes through in all the melodies that wed his words (when asking Louis Armstrong or Lester Young what they thought of when they played, they both said the words). J.M.’s songs all possess a memorable title. They all tell a story. And they all swing—to go back to the twenty questions bit.
Here are Andrew Scott’s impressions on eight Mercer masterpieces.
“Too Marvelous for Words” starts with an eight bar figure that is an invitation to dance or at least tap your foot happily. Notice how the melody melts in at the start of the chorus while the figure continues under it. Randy Sandke is first at bat with a beautiful entrance that makes me think of Ray Brown describing “Sweets” (Harry Edison): “He takes all the mystery out of jazz.” Mike Murley and Bernie Senensky follow in a way that J.M. would have described as truly lyrical. A four bar figure invites Andrew in and he immediately shows himself to be an important member of this heavyweight musical wedding. Joel Haynes solos lightly, softly and politely while Louis Simao proves his instrument is the most important in the band…it says so here!
“My Shining Hour.” Harold Arlen and J.M. as a team had jazz in their soul. It’s no wonder jazz musicians flock to their work. Andrew gives this an up-tempo treatment and his solo shines on this one. One chorus in C and one in Ab (a nice device). While Mike, Randy and Bernie skate through beautifully. Some nice stop time for Joel’s solo leads to the last chorus of this glorious clarion call of a melody.
“Blue Mercer.” This is one of two originals Andrew wrote for this project. I think J.M. would have loved to have put words to this tune. The blues are spoken by all in the room for this one and Louis solos for the first time one this one exhibiting fine time.
“Lullaby for Mason” is Andrew’s other original written for the pride and joy of Andrew and Mindy. Tenderness meets you at the door in Mike’s very warm and beautiful tenor solo. The group catches the spirit of Mike’s solo and turns in a plaintive reading of this lullaby.
“Day in, Day Out.” J.M. wrote this with Rube Bloom, who was a jazz pianist in the 1920s and 1930s who then went on to write many classic songs. It’s interesting how J.M. gravitated to writers who were jazz based. I think the group proves that a dramatic melody can work for an improvisational approach in any context—with or without any words. This song has been the source of many harmonizations…usually a group has a meeting on this one. Obviously the meeting here turned out well.
“Tangerine.” Bernie opens this with a Latin figure that works just fine into the melody. And along with the rhythm section he lays a Latin carpet for Andrew to prance on. Shades of Rene Touzet and Machito…who? Look them up!
“Have a Heart.” This one requires a letter to Andrew Scott.
Dear Andy:
Thanks for recording “Have a Heart.” As you know it was one of the great moments in my life writing this with J.M. and we should make your new fans know that for you this came under the heading of “adventures in a perambulator.” I’m sure you heard this melody laying in the back of 206 McPherson Ave. while I or your fine pianist, perfect pitched and beautiful mother played it. Your father Bill and mom used to look after this guy from L.A. by way of Brooklyn who had just arrived in Toronto. With the kind of ear you inherited how could you not make it sound beautiful? And what is there to say to Mike but ‘Oh yeah!”
“The Days of wine and Roses.” Mercer had his own language and the ability to play against the obvious making you feel the pathos of the action more. He sang this song for Jack Lemmon during the filming of the movie of the same name in a darkened studio. Jack was moved to tears. Somehow jazz musicians have loved to play the tune up-tempo. Andrew gives a reflective rubato chorus and then leads the group into an up-tempo version. Both sides now?
“Dream.” J.M. wrote both the words and music in 1955 for the Chesterfield radio show. Dizzy Gillespie (and disciples) were writing lines—alternate melodies on standard tunes from about 1945—at approximately the same time. One was “Whispering” which became “Groovin’ High.” J.M. of course had heard both and written “Dream” as his alternate melody based on the same chords never realizing where it came from harmonically. It demonstrates what a superb ear he had. Performing solo, Andrew plays the little heard verse of the tune inviting Randy into an up-tempo version of this tune. They show how well this set of chord changes has worked forever in jazz. It is interesting that Andrew wrote a line of his own to contribute to this harmonic legacy to showcase the Louis’s bass solo.
“This Time the Dream’s On me.” Andrew and the group give this a rollicking 6/8 blues feeling. After all, it was written with Harold Arlen for the film “Blues in the Night.” J.M. obviously loved the blues.
All in all I think this group, its guitarist leader and this Blue Mercer CD would be loved by our huckleberry friend. I can hear him saying, “They play and the angels sing.”
Gene Di Novi
Toronto, July 2006
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Are you ready to relax?
Much-maligned music will be toasted tonight at the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards
Mike Doherty
National Post
Thursday, April 06, 2006
The past decade has given rise to some surprising championing of music once thought to be terminally unfashionable. We've seen reappraisals of easy-listening music (through the lounge revival), '80s teen-pop (through Schooldisco club nights), and "smooth" soft rock (through the cult internet TV hit Yacht Rock). But surely a type of music that is associated with elevators, supermarkets, and being put on hold is immune to popular rehabilitation?
Roll on the second annual Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards. To be held in Mississauga tonight, they will aim to bring greater Canadian recognition to a radio format which has achieved surprising success in the U.S., but has yet to make many inroads in this country.
In order to do so, "smooth jazz" must first tackle the problem of its name, which seems to please no one, including musicians who are associated with it. Bob James, the U.S.-based keyboardist who will be receiving the George Benson Lifetime Achievement Award tonight, expresses his misgivings: "A very specific format of radio wants their listeners to have a 'smooth' experience, and they want to relieve the stress from their listeners' day. We could compare it to the type of music that's played at spas when you're getting massaged. Music can be used in a therapeutic way, in a healing way. All of those things are just functions of how music is used, but in the jazz field, the very term itself has begun taking on this role of a definition of a whole style of music. It's very important for those of us on the creative side to not let it be a limiting category."
James, who's best known for crossover hits such as Angela (the theme to the TV show Taxi) and Westchester Lady, got his start in the '60s making experimental jazz which was as smooth as a shave with a cheese grater. In the early '70s, however, he hooked up with producer Creed Taylor, founder of the CTI label and began drawing on classical melodies and rock rhythms. Taylor's instincts about crossing over between genres proved correct, and James, George Benson, Wes Montgomery and others became impressively popular with his guidance. James describes the '70s, a decade often looked on as a nadir for jazz, as being "very challenging and fun. It pulled a lot of us out of the habits that we had gotten into in learning to play the style of the jazz musicians that preceded us."
As jazz cross-pollinated, the so-called "jazz police" closed ranks. Toronto guitarist Andrew Scott, the music director of the Smooth Jazz Awards and a jazz instructor at York, Western and Humber College, explains: "Jazz ... became art music for most people post-World War II, in the bebop era. A premium has been placed on that music [because] it had such a hard-fought battle to become an art music. When it reaches this status, all of a sudden everything that came before it has to show that it’s leading up to this giant climax, and everything that comes after it has to show how it reifies that as being the pinnacle of these artistic endeavours. For some musicians, the designation between rhythm’n'blues and pop music is not nearly as clear-cut as one would get a sense of if you read the popular jazz history books.”
In 1987, as Wynton Marsalis’s neo-conservative young lions were roaring through the jazz world, the term “smooth jazz” entered the lexicon when Los Angeles radio station KTWV 94.7, “The Wave,” began broadcasting. The term apparently arose spontaneously from focus groups of listeners; as The Wave’s web site explains, the format “is a sophisticated, yet accessible blend of contemporary instrumental jazz and smooth vocals.”
Canada’s first smooth jazz station, Hamilton’s (apparently coincidentally) named “The Wave 94.7,” was founded in 2000 by Mary Kirk and her husband Doug; she describes her listeners as “well-to-do, educated, quite sophisticated in terms of their interest in culture and music in particular.” For her, they’re “a dream demographic.”
She considers smooth jazz to be an “upbeat” format which includes both instrumentals and songs by non-jazz artists such as Michael Buble and Feist, both of whom have been nominated for “Best Vocalist” awards tonight. While according to Kirk, The Wave’s listenership is growing, there are still only four smooth jazz stations in Canada, plus one on CBC’s digital service, Galaxy. Despite the listeners’ affluence, the lack of radio outlets can create problems both for record companies and for artists looking to get signed.
Andrew Scott and keyboardist Jim Clayton, for instance, thought they’d have a surefire hit with the Clayton/Scott Group’s 2003 album, So Nice, but they found labels were reluctant to sign them because of the smooth jazz format’s lack of retail presence. Scott laments the idea of “people going into an HMV and wading through the sounds of Insane Clown Posse to try and stumble into a jazz section where you’re probably going to get some surly ‘jazz police’ guy working there who really doesn’t want to direct you to the Bob James section.” On the other hand, he explains, “We can unload buckets of these CDs live. We’ve played festivals in the States and had line-ups of a couple hundred people not only to get the record but to take our picture and autograph.”
It’s when they’re stretching out live that “smooth jazz” artists come into their own, as demonstrated by the recently-released DVD of Bob James’s 1985 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. It finds James’s band digging into some intense grooves and venturing boldly into rough waters while sailing the seas of smooth. “I don’t think much of that music would have found its way onto smooth jazz radio,” acknowledges the keyboardist. “For me, what improvising is all about is that danger zone, that willingness to go into places that you haven’t been before and not knowing what’s going to happen. I hope to keep that element in my performing, even though it’s in context with a much more conventional idiom.”
Smooth jazz, in general, seems to be about context and containing danger. This containment happens sonically, with cushioning reverb and slick production, and also literally. Toronto’s Beaches Jazz Festival, for instance, as Eric Alper, Canadian Director of Media Relations at Bob James’s label, Koch, explains, “has the reputation of being a very safe environment for people to enjoy the day, to enjoy that a saxophone is playing on stage in front of a forest with a cool, summer breeze. That signifies smooth jazz for a lot of people.
“I think that aesthetic overcomes any possibility of being an absolute hardcore smooth jazz fan. I’ve never been to a festival where smooth jazz artists have played and seen people go completely nuts and crazy. I’ve seen them want to go and buy the CD for a pleasant listening experience. For some jazz artists, that’s all they want to do. They just want to take you away to a different place. … Smooth jazz can be a bit of escapism — not as in hip-hop escapism, to set you back into the ‘hood, but it brings you to a ‘higher ground,’ and allows you to relax.”
Of course, there’s relaxation and then there’s catatonia. Koch’s biggest smooth jazz sellers, Alper says, are the Jazzscapes compilation DVDs, featuring “a shadowy figure on a beach playing a saxophone with waves and water, and it makes me pee. It boggles my mind that these sell very, very well. I wouldn’t use it myself, but there must be a lot of people out there that do it. But then again, I can’t explain the logs on fire during Christmas either.”
On the other hand, Mary Kirk has had a decidedly different experience of the music. She looks back to a “smooth jazz cruise” hosted by Toronto-born saxist Warren Hill in the Caribbean this past January with a host of North American fans: “The music gives us this tremendous high. The high just gets higher when you’re one of 1,300 people in a theatre or you’re one of 1,800 fans on a cruise ship. It’s a tremendous camaraderie that people share, and the love of the music is what’s bringing them all together.”
The 66-year-old James, meanwhile, avers that his very agenda is to use music to bring people together; he’s currently finding a new audience in the Far East and has begun collaborating with Chinese musicians who play traditional instruments.
If I’ve been around long enough to have shifted from bebop to classical jazz to crossover to fusion to smooth to Chinese — whatever it is — that helps to keep me feeling challenged and moving forward. But throughout all of those different changes, it has never been a concern of mine to worry about the labelling of it beyond my happiness to be in the jazz field.”
The only labels James is looking at these days, in fact, are those on the products he’s promoting through his Bob James Wine Club. “I thought it would be natural if I had my own particular fusion of wine,” he explains, “and I’ve been experimenting with that. Some of our wine is, in fact, quite smooth. It fits in with that mix very, very well.”
The Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards will be held at the LivingArts Centre in Mississauga at 8 p.m. tonight. Tickets are $50 at thebox office: 905-306-6000 or 1-888-805-8888.
© National Post 2006
Copyright © 2006 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
From JazzTimes Magazine July/August 2005 issue
“Guitartistry”
ANDREW SCOTT QUARTET
This One’s for Barney (Sackville)
Just one of the nine songs on Andrew Scott’s leader debut, This One’s for Barney, is a Barney Kessel tune, and Scott doesn’t ever overtly mimic the West Coast guitar legend’s tone or style. So this disc mostly pays tribute by existing as a record of straightahead bebop as invigorating as the best in B.K.’s own catalog. No joke: Most small-combo standards sessions don’t light up like this one.
It’s impossible to pick out the firestarter in the band-the person who infused “If I Should Lose You” with such joy that it lasts nearly 10 minutes, or whoever pushed “This Could Be the Start of Something Big” so hard that it could only be the album’s opening grab-me track, bursting forth with a sophisticated kind of golden-era 52nd St. excitement. Scott and saxophonist Harry Allen certainly share responsibility for the enthusiasm on that opener, with both contributing separate gate-leaping solos and later collaborating to seamlessly trade fours-but then pianist Bernie Senensky and drummer Joel Haynes end it with a startling Latin flourish.
A modest Scott largely lays out when he’s not soloing, allowing Senensky to add the punchy undercurrent beneath the others’ spotlit moments. And when the pianist breaks for an assured solo flight he stands up against prime-era Oscar Peterson. Scott saves himself for leads where his robust, authoritative tone and stunning improvisational command twist a melody like his “Blues for Sonny” around the fretboard until he’s wrung it for all it’s worth, and it’s great fun listening to him do it. This will likely be the most enjoyable album of its sort that you’re going to hear all year.
-Russell Carlson
From JazzCanadiana.on.ca
Andrew Scott
“This One’s for Barney.”
Steve Allen’s “This Could be The Start of Something Big” swingingly introduces the prime musical movers on this disc – Bernie Senensky – piano, Louis Simao – bass, Joel Haynes – drums, Harry Allen – tenor and guitarist Andrew Scott, the latter in his first role as a leader. Scott’s playfully polished energy is highlighted on such numbers as Barney Kessel’s “Barney’s Rag” with trumpeter Jake Wilkinson catching the spirit, and “Blues for Sonny”, his own tribute to the legendary Sonny Greenwich. Solo exchanges by tenorman Allen and pianist Senensky especially, and the crisp interplay exhibited throughout, make this a highly recommended CD.
J.S.
JAZZ FESTIVAL(S) HIGHLIGHTS
THE OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
By Len Dobbin.
We arrived in Ottawa on June 24th, the second day of the 25th Anniversary edition of the Ottawa International Jazz Festival…After VEJI, it was off to the Studio of the National Art Centre for a superb concert by guitarist Andrew Scott, which included Terry Lukiwski, Ryan Oliver, Bernie Senensky, Duncan Hopkins, and Joel Haynes in a number of combinations.
Review of my June 24, 2005 Ottawa Jazz Festival performance by John Kelman from www.allaboutjazz.com
Closing out the night at the 10:30 pm National Arts Centre Studio Series, Toronto guitarist Andrew Scott delivered a sextet performance that, while having its moments of excitement, was a good way to wind down the day.
Scott’s tonal and harmonic conception is deeply rooted in Charlie Christian, by way of more evolved players like Grant Green and Wes Montgomery; he’s got a firm command of his instrument, with a solid ability to navigate the changes of this largely standards-based set. But as facile as he is, he still needs to find a voice. There are plenty of solid trad-based guitarists and, while Scott can clearly match many of them, he needs to find a stronger personal identity if he wants to emerge from the masses.
Still, that being said, Scott and his sextet—with a tenor/trombone front line and a rhythm section featuring Canadian legend Bernie Senensky on piano—delivered the goods in a nearly two-hour set that included standards like “The Days of Wine and Roses” and Grant Green’s “Matador,” along with Charlie Christian’s “Swing to Bop,” Hank Mobley’s “An Aperitif” and the Scott-penned “Friends.” Senensky stood out with a more adventurous way of approaching the mainstream material. When everyone but Senensky, bassist Duncan Hopkins and drummer Joel Haynes left the stage to give them the opportunity to stretch out on a radically reharmonized version of “My Romance,” Senensky’s more modern approach and distinctive voice became crystal clear.
Senensky’s playing illustrated the difference between being completely reverential to one’s roots and finding ways to expand those influences in new and original ways. Still, Scott may be young, but Senensky has been on the scene for thirty years, playing with renowned Canadians Lenny Breau and Dave Young, as well as internationally known artists including Eddie Henderson, Harvie Swartz and Akira Tana. Greater experience and opportunity may well give Scott the chance to develop the individual voice he needs to get to the next level.
Coda Magazine May/June 2005
Issue 321(page 30).
The Andrew Scott Quartet
This One’s for Barney
Sackville SKCD2-2062
Andrew Scott makes an impressive debut as leader on an album dedicated to Barney Kessel. It’s an appropriate dedication. Scott is an engaging guitarist who has the ability to fill a composition with ripe ideas. His playing is open, the improvisations melodic yet full of invention and he keeps the momentum going. All the tunes profile these traits with, “Blues for Sonny” being the best example. The mood is effervescent and lithe, and by the time Scott comes in, the kiln has been fired by Harry Allen on tenor sax, Bernie Senensky on piano and Jack Wilkinson on trumpet. Scott uses the full tonal palette of the guitar, a strum on the bass strings and then the quicksilver lines that dance and sting and make the song reverberate with palpable joy. Of the tow other originals from Scott, “To the Moon and Back” is a beautiful ballad, the melody enfolded in the soft wings of his improvisatons. It is the perfect lead-in to the Rodger & Hart composition “My Romance,” the resonance giving Scott another facet into which to extend his gorgeous harmonies.
The band breathes new life into the standards. They get off to a swinging start, Allen riding high on the melody followed by Scott. The pulse is constant, the key of invention ever evolving. Scott bends and flattens notes but keeps the melodic presence intact. The song is called “This Could Be the Start of Something Big.” And it could well be a prophetic title. By Jerry D’Souza.
Jersey Jazz
Compact Views by Joe Lang
April 2005 (page 24).
This One’s for Barney (Sackville-2062) is the first release featuring the Canadian guitarist Andew Scott as a leader. His quartet with Bernie Senensky on piano, Louis Simao on bass and Joel Haynes on drums is joined by tenor saxophonist Harry Allen on seven of the nine tracks, while trumpeter Jake WIlkinson joins the quartet and Allen on “Barney’s Rag” and takes the solo attention on “If I Should Lose You.” Scott is a versatile performer on guitar, with influences as diverse as Barney Kessel and Grant Green. He also shows himself to be a talented composer. His “Blues for Sonny,” a nod toward guitarist Sonny Greenwich, proves to be a great blowing tune. Allen is always a welcome addition ton any session. Senensky really grabs your attention when given the solo opportunities. This is a terrific debut for this swinging picker from the North. By Joe Lang.
Cadence Magazine: The Review of Jazz & Blues: Creative Improvised Music
May 2005
Volume 31. No. 5
Andrew Scott
This One’s for Barney,
Sackville 2062
It is not difficut to be a sucker for the sort of medium-swinging driving sound of guitarist Andrew Scott, who leads his small groups through a couple of originals and mostly well-known standards. Scott has an excellent ear for talent, as he wisely invited veteran saxophonist Harry Allen and pianist Bernie Senensky to participate in this highly-enjoyable set. Cole Porter’s “I Concentrate on You” typifies the approach. It begins with a slow, lush solo from Scott, segueing to a slightly faster, though somewhat breath-filled contributition from Harry Allen, whose solo is a lesson in good taste. Sure, some might call it retrospective, as derivative as any Scott Hamilton take, and it is. But Allen’s gorgeous sound, the sound, sets him apart from the crowd. Scott, although less imposing, sports a firm, confident demeanor, and he solos with a charming elan. Listen to the underrated Senensky on this piece, and you can’t help but feel the goose bumps, as he effortlessly shows who is a master of the keys. Journeyman Jake Wilkinson sits in on Barney Kessel’s “Barney’s Rag” and on “If I Should Lose You,” adding a refreshingly unpolished tone that comfortably adds color and just a touch of rawness. Scott proves himself a fine composer, too, as his upbeat “For Mindy,” named after his wife, and “Blues for Sonny,” both fit like old shoes, seeming familiar. Allen is best on the romantic pieces such as “Nancy with the Laughing Face,” where he drips with emotion. Of course, Scott follows in due course, also pulling on the heartstrings. You can’t help but think of some of the gianst, Grant Green and Stan Getz, or Lester Young. For those of us who listen to hundreds of recordings each year, only a few distinguish themselves. This is one that carves out a modest niche for itself, but in the process it emanates pure joy and exquisite sensuality: An auspicious debut for young guitarist/composer Andrew Scott. By Steven Loewy.
CJSR 88.5MHz – Edmonton
Jazz
For the Week Ending: Tuesday, May 24, 2005
1 William Parker Quartet Sound Unity AUM Fidelity
2 Various Verve Remixed 3 Verve
3 Jazzinho Jazzinho StreetBeat
4 David Braid Sextet Live Cellar Live
5 Kurt Rosenwinkel Deep Song Verve
6 James Danderfer Run WIth IT Cellar Live
7 Andrew Scott Quartet This One’s For Barney Sackville
8 Dave Young Quintet Mainly Mingus Justin Time
9 Ras Moshe Schematic Utech
10 Ralph Sutton Solo Piano 1949 And 1952 Sackville
THE ANDREW SCOTT QUARTET This One’s for Barney
Sackville 2004«««« (Canada)
1. This Could Be the Start of Something Big (6:34)
2. I Concentrate on You (9:52)
Canadian scholar, journalist and historian Andrew Scott also plays a swinging mean guitar, dedicating this one to Barney Kessel. This is his first as leader but hopefully not his last. Backed by fine musicians such as Bernie Senensky and Harry Allen, Scott has made very good choices here. There are a few wistful ballads but the album works best when it’s cooking that succulent swing Duke Ellington was talking about.
CHRY TOP TEN JAZZ CHART MAY 2005
Articles / Jazz News
Date: May 04, 2005 – 09:52 AM
Compiled by Ori Dagan, Jazz Director CHRY 105.5FM
(4) 1 BABATUNDE LEA
Suite Unseen: Summoner of the Ghost (Motéma)
(3) 2 JAY GEILS
Plays Jazz! (Stony Plain Records)
(2) 3 THE LAILA BIALI TRIO
Introducing The Laila Biali Trio (Indie)
7) 4 MARK SEPIC Blue Mantra (Indie)
(1) 5 ANITA O’DAY
Live at Mingo’s 1976 (Kayo)
(-) 6 MARIAN MCPARTLAND & FRIENDS
85 Candles Live in New York (Concord)
(10) 7 ANDREW SCOTT QUARTET
This One’s For Barney (Sackville)
(8) 8 HELEN MERRIL Lilac Wine (Gitanes)
(5) 9 EMILIE CLAIRE-BARLOW
Like a Lover (Empress Music Group)
(6) 10 REAL DIVAS II Various Artists (7 Arts)
CHRY 105.5 FM TOP TEN JAZZ CHART MAY 2005
Reviewed by Ori Dagan, Jazz Director
Although guitarist Andrew Scott’s CD is in tribute to Barney Kessel and he performs “Barney’s Rag” (Kessel’s take on “Tiger Rag”), Scott has his own sound and style within the genre of straight-ahead jazz. With tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, who is in top form as his co-star, Scott plays a heated date of bebop that is highlighted by one of the hottest-ever versions of “This Could Be the Start of Something Big,” “I Concentrate on You,” “Barney’s Rag” and “Blues for Sonny.” The latter starts out with a transcription of a Charlie Christian solo, played in unison by Scott and Allen. Trumpeter Jake Wilkinson makes the group a quintet on “Barney’s Rag” and is showcased on “If I Should Lose You.” The closing medley is played by Andrew Scott on unaccompanied solo guitar. Every selection on this set is successful and enjoyable, showing that when straight-ahead jazz is played with enthusiasm, high musicianship and subtle creativity, bebop definitely lives. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Scott group jazzy
His UWO ensemble is built on his students’ love of the music and thirst for knowledge.
Free Press Staff
The London Free Press
2005-03-30
UWO Don Wright music faculty lecturer Andrew Scott has two chances to show off his student jazz ensemble this week.
“The fact that many of the students involved are either non-music majors or are not receiving credit for the course means they are there for the ‘love’ of the music and to learn as much as possible,” Scott says of his charges via e-mail. “It is inspiring to see a new generation of players who care about the traditions of playing the blues, swinging and learning the great jazz repertoire.”
Scott is a Toronto guitarist and York University post-graduate student who is about to defend his PhD dissertation on Canadian jazz guitarist Sonny Greenwich. At Western, he lectures in the music history department, having developed a course on great performances in jazz history. He directs the UWO jazz orchestra/big band as a lecturer in the music performance department.
“I don’t feel overly comfortable singling certain individuals out, but Brian Roy (trumpet) and Ian Koiter (bass) both won scholarships this year. Some of the graduating players, like Glenn Waugh (trumpet) and Ryan King (tenor saxophone), will be missed,” Scott says.
He joins the jazz ensemble for performances tonight (March 30) at UWO’s Talbot Theatre and Friday night (April 1) at the UWO grad club when it opens a three-day jazz fest. Among the guests on Friday are Bob Brough, a Toronto multi-instrumentalist expected to play alto sax that night. Brough’s standing in Canadian jazz is confirmed by his place, as “the Senator,” in the title of Toronto critic Mark Miller’s Boogie, Pete and the Senator, a major study of Canada’s jazz performers.
The fest continues at the grad club with Toronto sax player Kirk MacDonald on Saturday (April 2) and London’s Carole Allison on Sunday (April 3).
Among the attractions of Friday night’s gig is the chance to share the stage with top Canadian jazz performers, but tonight’s concert will showcase the ensemble’s development as a group.
“The group has grown tremendously as a unit,” Scott says. “A huge part of jazz music is about musical co-operation and playing together — ‘jamming.’
“I think people often hear a jazz soloist and pay attention to the individual — as demonstrated by their applause — but all good jazz from the Count Basie band to Charlie Parker was made with other musicians. So, I think the UWO group has evolved in their ability to . . . play and swing together as a cohesive unit.”
Scott’s guitar influences include George Benson, Pat Martino and Greenwich. In addition to his work with the the Clayton/Scott Group, he leads a jazz quartet and performs with One Step Beyond. He has worked with such artists as Merl Saunders, Don Thompson, Marvin Stamm, Vassar Clements, Phil Dwyer, Bob Moses and Gordon Edwards. He has recorded as both a leader and a sideman.
Scott earned his master of musicology degree at Boston’s New England Conservatory after studying at Toronto’s Humber College. As a scholar, he has participated in conferences at various schools including the University of Guelph, McGill, Western, York and Kent State. His doctoral thesis on Greenwich is forming the basis for his book on Scott’s fellow guitarist.
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IF YOU GO
What: Jazz performances at Western, including a three-day festival at the UWO grad club in Middlesex College, opening Friday
Tonight (March 30): UWO Talbot Theatre, 8 p.m. Don Wright music faculty jazz ensemble, directed by Toronto guitarist Andrew Scott; free; call 661-3767
Friday (April 10: UWO grad club, 9 p.m., 19 and up; jazz fest opens as Scott and the ensemble are joined by guests Ryan Oliver on tenor sax, Tyler Viaene on Hammond B3 organ and sax, and Bob Brough on alto sax; admission, $5, benefits Crohn’s Colitis Foundation, in memory of Barney Boothe, the late 94.9 CHRW jazz show host; call 661-3082
Saturday (April 2): 9:30 p.m.; fest continues at the grad club with Toronto sax player Kirk MacDonald and London’s Chris Norley Trio; $10
Sunday (April 3): Noon; fest finale at the grad club is open jam session with London singer-songwriter Carole Allison; free; breakfast/brunch available, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. $10
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From ELMERCURIO.COM
THE ANDREW SCOTT QUARTET
“This One’s For Barney”
“This One’s For Barney” está dedicado al gran guitarrista Barney Kessel, quien falleció a los ochenta años en mayo de 2004. De esa manera, Andrew Scott, un talentoso artista canadiense que aún no cumple treinta años y ya es profesor de guitarra en la universidad de York, nos enseña claramen