Few
artists were treated as shabbily by the music business as “Little” Jimmy Scott.
In this case, the music business means Herman Lubinsky of Savoy Records, who
continually blocked Scott’s comeback attempts out of pure spite. Ralf Kemper is
the anti-Lubinsky. He decided to produce an ambitious album with full orchestra
and big name guest musicians, simply out of a love for Scott’s vocal artistry. Initially,
his overtures seem to come too late for the ailing Scott, but he was really
just in time. Yoon-ha Chang documents the difficult but rewarding recording
sessions of the still-not-yet-released album in I Go Back Home—Jimmy Scott (trailer here), which screens
during this year’s Harlem International Film Festival.
Scott
passed away in 2014 and we will never hear his like again. Arguably, the only
other vocalist who could interpret lyrics with such visceral feeling was Billie
Holiday. The comparison seems particularly apt during Scott’s initial sessions
with Kemper. His voice is so weak, yet still so full of feeling, it leads
viewers to expect this project will be something akin to Lady Day’s raw,
haunting Lady in Satin. However, he
starts to gain strength and enthusiasm as Kemper brings in a stellar line-up to
back him.
Sadly,
we have also lost the late, great James Moody, but the tenor legend is as
jovial as ever around Scott and he hadn’t any of his chops. Scott’s spirits
clearly perked up when his longtime pal Joe Pesci sang a lovely duet of “The
Nearness of You” with him. In addition,
Arturo
Sandoval, Kenny Barron, Oscar Castro-Neves, Terry Gibbs, David Sanborn, Diane
Schuur, Patti Austin, Renee Olstead, and Monica Mancini also contributed their
considerable talents. Yet, bafflingly, Kemper could not interest a record label
in the project.
According
to the film’s website, the album Kemper produced will soon be released—and it
is about time. Nevertheless, for the time being, this is the only way to hear
Scott’s final recorded legacy. Seriously, how can any label not be interested?
Heck, Scott’s last comeback doesn’t seem so long ago, but it was twenty-four
years ago Sire signed Scott after he sang at Doc Pomus’s memorial (and
basically tore everyone’s heart out) and performed “Sycamore Trees” on the
final episode of Twins Peaks. (As
someone who was there for a sold-out Scott set at the Iridium, I can attest
there will always be a dedicated audience for the truly unique artist.)
