Jimmy Scott
(Decca/grp – 1999)
by Matt Robinson
On this new collection of career-starting sides, Jimmy Scott primarily deals with two main issues: the fool and Fortune. While Scott was often made to play the former thanks to the development-stunting condition that the latter foisted upon him, he has enough conviction and strength (both vocally and otherwise) to deliver a star-making performance. From the opening horn punch of the collection¹s title track, Scott is demanding attention be paid despite his diminutive size. This attention is rewarded with an emotive set of heart-felt selections that includes the plaintive “I Wish I Knew,” the questioning “Alone with a Memory,” the lingering “Do You Mind if I Hang Around” and the liberating “When You Surrender.”
Scott¹s early signs of star quality were also noted by greats like Lionel Hampton, Stan Getz and Dr. Billy Taylor, all of whom lend their formidable talents to the new man-child on the block. Despite early and lingering obstacles, “Little” Jimmy Scott has turned himself into one of the biggest names in the world of Jazz vocalism. And listening to these early recordings which have been thankfully rejuvenated for the digital age, it is not difficult to see why. © 2002 M. S. Robinson, ARR