Scott, Tony
Tony Scott
Clarinetist, saxophonist, arranger
Whether Tony Scott fans appreciate his be-bop jazz from the 1950s or his New Age music from the 1960s, they agree wholeheartedly on one thing: he isn’t as well known as he should be. Perhaps his love of travel, his ability to play multiple instruments, and his refusal to be pinned down to one musical style, have made him difficult to categorize. Over the past 50 years, he arranged the hit “Day-O” for Harry Belafonte, studied traditional music in Japan, performed with Charlie Parker, recorded the first New Age album, and lived in three different countries. He repeatedly wonDown Beat critics’ and readers’ polls, and composed classic instrumentais like “Blues for Charlie Parker.” Scott also proved that the clarinet wasn’t just an old-fashioned instrument for swing jazz; he showed that be-bop could be played and played well on the instrument.
Scott’s parents emigrated from Sicily at the turn of the century. His mother played violin, his father guitar, and by age 12, Scott began studying clarinet, influenced by the sounds of Clarence Hutchenrider, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw. Scott attended Juilliard from 1940-42, receiving instruction in clarinet, piano, and composition, and building a strong background in classical music. Drafted into the United States Army in 1942, he was stationed at Governor’s Island in New York harbor and spent his spare time immersed in the jazz scene on 52nd Street. His most musically transforming event occurred in 1943 when he saw Charlie Parker play for the first time. “My mouth dropped,” Scott told Matthew Landan of the Herald Tribune. “He played so many notes that it sounded like … Chinese music from the moon.” Scott and Parker later became friends.
From the mid 1940s to the mid 1950s, the fast chord changes and complicated progressions of be-bop would dominate the best and the brightest in the jazz world. There were very few clarinet players who showed interest in be-bop, and many believed that the new music was ill-suited for the instrument. Scott set out to convince critics and skeptics otherwise. Ben Webster would greatly influence him, serving as his mentor and informal teacher for a number of years. Scott played and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, and Charlie Parker in the late 1940s, and by 1954, led his own quartet in a successful run at Minton’s Playhouse, the location that gave birth to be-bop. “By the early 1950s he had developed a far more confident approach,” wrote Jim Burns in Jazz on Record, ”and his soloing became more intense and swinging.” In 1953, Scott won the Down Beat critics’ poll as “New Star” on the clarinet.
Despite Scott’s interest in be-bop, he was sometimes compelled to play popular music in order to make a living. In 1953, he played for a month in Duke Ellington’s orchestra, and in 1955, worked as Harry Belafon-te’s musical director, arranging the hit “Day-O.” Scott made nearly $1,500 dollars per week with Belafonte, and was offered a lucrative contract to form a jazz orchestra for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). While these opportunities may have tempted other musicians, Scott wasn’t interested. He told What Music online that he did not put his name on “Day-O” because “I don’t wanna be known as Tony Scott the calypso writer I wanna be Tony Scott the jazz clarinetist.” He also turned down the RCA offer, feeling that he would be forced to play watered-down jazz. His desire to play artistically challenging jazz did not lead to more opportunities though. To make matters more difficult, jobs for musicians became increasingly scarce on the New York jazz scene during the 1950s.
In 1957, Scott began an extensive tour of Europe that included a side trip to South Africa. “He ’sat in’ all over the world, “wrote John S. Wilson in theNew York Times.He began the tour in Sweden, performing with the Harry Arnold Orchestra, and forming his own quartet to record “Swingin’ in Sweden” and other pieces. While in Yugoslavia, he spontaneously performed the instrumental “Blues for Charlie Parker, “dedicated to his friend’s memory. It would become Scott’s most requested composition. “It was a spur of the moment thing, “Scott told Wilson. “The audience gave me a five-minute standing ovation. Musically, it was the high point of my life.” Scott also traveled to South Africa, a country still gripped by apartheid, where he was allowed to play to multi-racial audiences. He received a letter of commendation from Vice President
For the Record…
Born Anthony Joseph Sciacca on June 17, 1921, in Morristown, NJ.Education: Degree in clarinet, piano, and composition, Juilliard School of Music, 1942.
Began playing clarinet at age 12; formed first combo at 14; served in U.S. Army, 1942-45; played tenor saxophone and clarinet with Ben Webster, Buddy Rich, and Sid Catlett, late 1940s; arranged for Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan; played in Duke Ellington’s band for one month, 1953; led combo at Minton’s, 1954; worked as musical director for Harry Belafonte, 1955; toured Europe and Africa for seven months, 1957; began traveling throughout the Orient exploring world music, 1959; recorded the influentialMusic for Zen Meditation, 1964; toured Africa between 1968-70; recording actively, 1993—.
Awards:Down Beat critics and readers poll, best clarinetist, 1955-59.
Addresses: Record company —32 Records, 250 West 57th Street, Suite 620, New York, NY 10107; Verve Music Group, 1755 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10019.
Richard Nixon when he returned, thanking him for his goodwill musical tour.
Scott returned to New York in the later part of 1957, but he would only remain for two years. He played at the Show Boat Club in Greenwich Village in New York City, appeared on a number of episodes of the television show,The Subject Is Jazz, and received good reviews for his performance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. In 1959, he recordedSung Heroes with Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro, and Paul Motiam. Despite these successes, Scott once again decided to travel, this time to the Far East. By this time, many of the friends who had most inspired him—Billie Holiday, Art Tatum, and Lester Young—had died. Going to the Far East, Scott believed, would help to revitalize his sagging spirits.
Scott traveled extensively, touring the Philippines, Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia. “He was the first modern American jazz musician,” wrote Leonard Feather, “to make extensive visits to these areas.” He played on United States Army bases in Japan, appeared on
Japanese television, and performed before the king of Thailand. He played in Hindu temples in Hong Kong and played with an all women’s orchestra in Bali, Indonesia. While Japanese music tended to be more formalized and structured, Scott convinced koto player Shinichi Yuize and bamboo flute player Hozan Yamamoto to improvise music based on classical Japanese scales. Their collaboration would lead to the recording ofMusic for Zen Meditation in 1964, an album highly influential to the New Age music movement. Unlike the be-bop Scott had played during the 1950s, this music flowed freely, neither building nor climaxing. While Creed Taylor’s offer of $5, 000 for the recording didn’t seem like a great deal of money to Scott, the album remained on Verve Record’s back catalog for years, earning generous royalties.
In the mid 1960s, Scott returned to New York City. He played the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965, and worked at the Dom in the East Village for two years. Scott toured Africa between 1968-70, stopping in Egypt, Tanzania, Ghana, Morocco, and Senegal, and recorded traditionally based ethnic music onTony Scott in Afrika.In 1970, he settled in Rome, Italy, forming a musical partnership with Romano Mussolini, son of the dictator Benito Mussolini. Scott also pursued photography, collecting a large number of pictures of well-known jazz musicians. In 1996, he recordedThe Old Lion Roars for his seventy-fifth birthday. He also spent time writing his autobiography,Bird, Lady, and Me, covering his memories of 52nd Street.
Scott’s musical ventures have taken him around the world, fearlessly sharing and learning from other cultures. He continues to record, and completed a project—yet to be released as of early 2001—titledMusic to Heal the Wounded Soul, he also hopes to seeBird, Lady and Me published in 2002. Few jazz musicians can lay claim to having played with Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Ben Webster, Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, Clark Terry, and Sarah Vaughan. “Tony Scott has emerged from his bop roots and his new-age experiments,” wrote Shaun Dale in Cosmik Debris magazine online, “as the senior statesman of the clarinet.” His ability to play a number of jazz styles, combined with openness toward different cultures, has made his music diverse and distinctive. “I decided a long time ago I would rather be a jazz musician than rich and famous, “he told Landan. “I never regretted that decision.”
Selected discography
Scott’s Fling, RCA, 1955.
The Touch of Tony Scott, Victor, 1956.
Music for Zen Meditation and Other Joys, Verve, 1964.
Music for Yoga Meditation and Other Joys, Verve, 1967.
Tony Scott in Afrika, Music of the World, 1996.
Homage to Billie Holiday: Body and Soul, Philology, 1998.At Last (reissue), 32 Jazz, 1999.
Sources
Books
Feather, Leonard,Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties, Da Capo, 1986.
McCarthy, Morgan, and others,Jazz On Record: A Critical Guide to the First 50 Years: 1917-1967, Hanover Books, 1968.
Periodicals
Herald Tribune (Bologna, Italy), July 20, 2000, p. 1.
New York Times, April 23, 1967, Section II, p. 26.
Online
“Tony Scott/Franco D’Andrea Quartet,” Cosmik Debris, http://www.cosmik.com/ (January 15, 2001).
“We Catch Up With Tony Scott,” What Music, http://www.whatmusic.com/home/index.html (January 20, 2001).
—Ronald D. Lankford, Jr.
Scott, Tony 1944- (Anthony Scott)
Scott, Tony 1944- (Anthony Scott)
PERSONAL
Full name, Anthony D. L. Scott; born June 21, 1944, in North Shields, Northumberland (some sources cite Newcastle-upon-Tyne or Stockton-on-Tees), England; son of Elizabeth Jean Scott; father, a dock worker; brother of Ridley Scott (a film director and studio executive); uncle of Jake Scott (a director) and Jordan Scott (an actress and director); married, wife's name Gerry (a production designer), 1967 (divorced, 1974); married Glynis Sanders (a producer of commercials), 1986 (divorced, 1987); married Donna Wilson (an actress and model), November 24, 1994; children: (third marriage) Max and Frank (twins). Education: Sunderland Art School, graduated (with first class honors); Leeds College of Art, graduate study, 1969; Royal College of Arts, M.F.A., 1972. Avocational Interests: Mountain climbing.
Addresses:
Office—Scott Free Productions, 614 North La Peer Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90069; Totem, 8009 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046; RSA Films Ltd., 42-44 Beak St., London W1F 9RH, England. Agent—Creative Artists Agency, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067. Publicist—Joy Fehily, PMK/HBH Public Relations, 700 San Vicente Blvd., Suite G910, West Hollywood, CA 90069.
Career:
Producer, director, and studio executive. Scott Free Productions, Los Angeles, partner and chair; RSA Films Ltd. (commercial and music video production company; also known as Black Dog Films, La Division, Little Minx, and RSA USA), London, founder, partner, and director; Totem (film and commercial production company), Los Angeles, president. Also works as cinematographer, editor, actor, and writer; formerly worked as an artist (painter). Directed thousands of television commercials.
Member:
Directors Guild of America.
Awards, Honors:
Clio Awards, Gold and Silver Lions, and Cannes awards for television commercial work; Medalla Sitges en Plata de ley, best short film, Catalonian International Film Festival, 1971, for One of the Missing; Michael Balcon Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1995; International Fantasy Film Award nomination, best film, Fantasporto, 1995, for True Romance; Golden Seashell nomination, San Sebastian International Film Festival, 1996, for The Fan; Annual CableACE Award, best directing in a drama series, National Cable Television Association, 1997, for "The Swords," The Hunger; Emmy Award nomination (with others), outstanding made for television movie, and Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, best television movie, both 2000, for RKO 281; Emmy Award (with others), outstanding made for television movie, 2002, and Producers Guild of America Award nomination (with others), television producer of the year in long-form category, 2003, both for The Gathering Storm; DVD Premiere Award nomination, best Internet video premiere, DVD Exclusive Awards, 2003, for Beat the Devil.
CREDITS
Film Executive Producer:
Clay Pigeons (also known as Clay Pigeons—Lebende Ziele and Lebende Ziele)), Gramercy, 1998.
Where the Money Is (also known as Ein heisser Coup and Where the Money Is—Ein heisser coup), Gramercy/USA Films, 1999.
Big Time, 2001.
Hostage (short film; also known as The Hire: Hostage), BMW Films, 2002.
(And director) Beat the Devil (short film; also known as The Hire: Beat the Devil), BMW Films, 2002.
Ticker (short film; also known as The Hire: Ticker), BMW Films, 2002.
In Her Shoes, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2005.
Tristan + Isolde (also known as Tristan & Isolde), Twentieth Century-Fox, 2006.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (also known as The Assassination of Jesse James), Warner Bros., 2007.
Film Director:
(As Anthony Scott; and cinematographer and film editor) One of the Missing, British Film Institute, 1969.
(As Anthony Scott; and cinematographer and film editor) Loving Memory, British Film Institute, 1972.
The Hunger, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1983.
Author of Beltraffio, 1983.
Top Gun, Paramount, 1986.
Beverly Hills Cop II, Paramount, 1987.
Presidio, Paramount, 1988.
Revenge, New World, 1990.
Days of Thunder, Paramount, 1990.
The Last Boy Scout (also known as Breakaway), Warner Bros., 1991.
True Romance, Warner Bros., 1993.
Crimson Tide, Buena Vista, 1995.
The Fan, TriStar, 1996.
Enemy of the State, Buena Vista, 1998.
Spy Game, Universal, 2001.
Agent Orange (short film), 2004.
(And producer) Man on Fire, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2004.
(And producer) Domino, New Line Cinema, 2005.
Deja Vu, Buena Vista, 2006.
Film Cinematographer:
Forum, 1969.
Film Appearances:
Schoolboy, Boy and Bicycle (also known as Boy on a Bicycle), 1965.
A director, Cityscrapes: Los Angeles, 1994.
Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick, 1996.
Television Executive Producer; Series:
The Hunger, Showtime, 1997.
AFP: American Fighter Pilots, CBS, 2002.
Numb3rs (also known as Num3ers), CBS, 2005—.
Television Executive Producer; Miniseries:
The Company, TNT, 2007.
The Andromeda Strain, Arts and Entertainment, 2008.
Television Executive Producer; Movies:
RKO 281 (also known as RKO 281: The Battle over Citizen Kane), HBO, 1999.
The Last Debate, Showtime, 2000.
The Gathering Storm, HBO, 2002.
The Lonely War, HBO, 2002.
Churchill at War, HBO, 2008.
Television Executive Producer; Pilots:
Numb3rs (also known as Num3ers), CBS, 2005.
Orpheus, CBS, 2006.
Law Dogs, CBS, 2007.
(And director) Homeland, CBS, 2007.
Theory of Everything, CBS, 2007.
Cutter, CBS, 2007.
Television Executive Producer; Specials:
Christmas at the Movies, syndicated, 1990.
Television Director; Episodic:
"L'auteur de Beltraffio," Nouvelles de Henry James, 1976.
"The Swords," The Hunger, Showtime, 1997.
"Sanctuary," The Hunger, Showtime, 1999.
"Trust Metric," Numb3rs (also known as Num3ers), CBS, 2005.
Television Appearances; Specials:
The Hunger: An MTV Sneak Preview, MTV, 1997.
The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money (special; also known as Wie man die leute von ihrem geld trennt), Bravo, 1998.
The Story Behind: Top Gun, NBC, 2001.
Tom Cruise, E! Entertainment Television, 2004.
Television Appearances; Episodic:
"A Death in Hollywood," The Works, BBC, 1996.
"Top Gun," VH-1 Behind the Movie, VH1, 2002.
"The Making of Man on Fire," HBO First Look, HBO, 2004.
Television Appearances; Other:
Danny, Number One, 1985.
Police lieutenant, Spearfield's Daughter (miniseries), 1986.
Angelo nero, 1998.
RECORDINGS
Videos:
The Making of "Crimson Tide," Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 1995.
Conversations with Jerry Bruckheimer, Buena Vista Home Video, 2000.
The Making of "Spy Game," Universal Home Video, 2001.
Danger Zone: The Making of "Top Gun," Paramount, 2004.
The Making of "Man on Fire," Twentieth Century-Fox Home Entertainment, 2004.
Vengeance Is Mine: Reinventing "Man on Fire," Twentieth Century-Fox Home Entertainment, 2005.
I Am a Bounty Hunter: Domino Harvey's Life, New Line Home Video, 2006.
Bounty Hunting on Acid: Tony Scott's Visual Style, New Line Home Video, 2006.
The Making of "Enemy of the State," Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2006.
Dangerous Days: Making "Blade Runner" (also known as Dangerous Days), Warner Home Video, 2007.
Obsession: The Sex and Violence of Revenge, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2007.
Director of the music video "One More Try," included in the compilation Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael, 1999.
WRITINGS
Film Scripts:
(As Anthony Scott) One of the Missing, British Film Institute, 1969.
(As Anthony Scott) Loving Memory, British Film Institute, 1972.
OTHER SOURCES
Periodicals:
Premiere, June, 1993, p. 23.
Vox, July, 1999, pp. 58-59.