Jimmy Scott - I Go back Home (last recording)

[GA Russell]

Eden River Records    Presents     A Record Of Collaboration & Companionship:  The Last Album From An Iconic Voice      JIMMY SCOTT'S  I GO BACK HOME    WITH Joe Pesci, Dee Dee Bridgewater, James Moody,   Kenny Barron, Peter Erskine, Arturo Sandoval, Joey DeFrancesco,  Monica Mancini, Till Brönner, Oscar Castro-Neves,  Bob Mintzer, John Pisano, Renee Olstead, Gregoire Maret,   HBR Studio Symphony Orchestra         CD (WITH GENEROUSLY-SIZED BOOKLET), DOUBLE-VINYL   (2 X 180 GMS) AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON JANUARY 27, 2017 AND THROUGH   WWW.EDEN-RIVER-RECORDS.COM       The album's inspiring creation is told in an accompanying award-winning documentary film. Watch the official trailer here.   JIMMY SCOTT DOCUMENTARY  I GO BACK HOME - A STORY ABOUT HOPING AND DREAMING    World Premiere at SXSW Film Festival 2016    Introduced by Quincy Jones at the 50th Montreux Jazz Festival 2016    Winner at Harlem International Film Festival 2016 for "Best Documentary"    Winner at Festival International de Film de Bruxelles 2016 for "Best Documentary"   Winner at 13th Soundtrack Cologne 2016 for "Best Documentary" MORE SCREENING DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED.         Wuppertal, December 14, 2016 - I Go Back Home is the heroic creation of German producer Ralf Kemper, a love letter to a pioneering vocalist, Jimmy Scott, cursed with puberty-stunting Kallman's Syndrome which ironically gifted him his incomparable style and sound.  An oppressive recording contract hounded Jimmy Scott through most of his recording career and prevented him from releasing albums (including the only album Ray Charles ever produced). It wasn't until 1992 that Jimmy, aged 63, recorded All The Way, the first album with which he had creative control. Fittingly, the album was nominated for a Grammy and brought him to a new audience including director David Lynch who cast him in his television series Twin Peaks. Scott began touring and regularly releasing albums. I Go Back Home was recorded in 2014. It is a record of reconciliation and collaboration, the sound of a singer going out on top. With production from Phil Ramone, Kemper and Scott showcase the work of exceptional collaborators, several of whom passed since contributing to the album, among them, bossa nova icon Oscar Castro-Neves and legendary saxophonist James Moody, long-time associate of Dizzy Gillespie.    Additional guests include Academy Award-winning actor Joe Pesci, who turns in a divine duet on The Nearness of You and The Folks Who Live on the Hill; drummer Peter Erskine,  pianist Kenny Barron, organist Joey DeFrancesco, and Dee Dee Bridgewater, who joins Scott on For Once in My Life.      Everybodyʼs Somebodyʼs Fool has special meaning for Scott. It was his only charting song, a modest hit with Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra. Here, 50 years later, Scott revisits it with accompanist James Moody, who appeared on the original.    As Jimmy explained: "The lyric is so important to me. I feel if you're singing a song or telling the story in a song it should mean something. That's why I protect what I have in it, because that's where I believe it should go. It should mean something. It should make sense."    Dave Nathan wrote on AllMusic that Scott's phrasing moves "beyond mere poignancy and close to reverence". This is truer than ever on I Go Back Home. Scott shifts from speak-singing in album-opener (Sometimes I Feel Like a) Motherless Child to a lively bossa nova take on I Remember You to the full-throated commitment on If I Ever Lost You. And while we can mourn the decades he didn't record, the tragedies and injustices that never defeated him, I Go Back Home succeeds in capturing the essence of a life that was ultimately triumphant.   TRACKS  1. Motherless Child (5:23) - Featuring Joey De Francesco 2. The Nearness Of You (6:38) - Duet with Joe Pesci         3. Love Letters (4:08) 4. Easy Living (4:17) - Duet with Oscar Castro-Neves 5. Someone To Watch Over Me (4:15) - Featuring Renee Olstead 6. How Deep is the Ocean (5:10) - Featuring Denny Barron 7. If I Ever Lost You (5:46) - Featuring Till Brönner 8. For Once In My Life (5:07) - Duet with Dee Dee Bridgewater 9. I Remember You (4:26) - Featuring Monica Mancini & Arturo Sandoval 10. Everybody is Somebody's Fool (3:55) - Featuring James Moody 11. Folks Who Live On The Hill (4:57) - Featuring Joe Pesci 12. Poor Butterfly (4:56) - Featuring Gregoire Maret   PERSONNEL Jimmy Scott: vocals; Joey DeFrancesco: organ (1, 3, 4, 10, 11); Kenny Barron: piano (1, 2, 5-8, 11, 12); Martin Gjakonovski: bass (1); Hans Dekker: drums (1); Joe Pesci: vocals (2, 11); Michael Valerio: bass (2-12); Peter Erskine: drums (2-12); Oscar Castro- Neves: vocals (3), guitar (3, 6, 9); Gregoire Maret: harmonica (3, 4, 12); John Pisano: guitar (4); Renee Olstead: vocals (5); Till Brönner: trumpet (7); Bob Mintzer: tenor saxophone (8); Monica Mancini: vocals (9); Arturo Sandoval: trumpet (9); James Moody: saxophone (10); HBR Studio Symphony Orchestra. 1st Row (L to R): Dee Dee Bridgewater, Arturo Sandoval, Joe Pesci, Peter Erskine, Renee Olstead, Kenny Barron, John Pisano. 2nd Row (L to R): Till Brönner, Monica Mancini, James Moody, Gregoire Maret, Bob Mintzer, Joey DeFrancesco, Oscar Castro-Neves

TRAILER AND CLIPS Documentary Official Trailer I Go Back Home               PRODUCER'S COMMENT  By Ralf Kemper "When I heard Jimmy Scott for the first time, I didn't even know it was Jimmy because the record didn't mention his name. It was a Charlie Parker record from 1953 and Jimmy was singing Embraceable You. The name of the singer was called Chubby Newsome but I found out later it was really Jimmy Scott. To me, his voice was so different from the others, and I couldn't understand why Jimmy never got the kind of recognition for his master story-telling artistry that he so clearly deserved. In Germany, I grew up a classical piano prodigy in a family where music was a big part of daily life.  I dove into music because it seemed to be the only place where stories were told the way I dreamed and felt them. It wasn't until the death of my wife Candace in 2007 that I started to ask many questions. It was like an earthquake of the highest magnitude which shook my life. What had I been doing all those years scoring over 1000 TV commercials when originally I was supposed to only pay my bills so I could do the music I always dreamed of.     My dream for most of my life has been to produce and create music with the artists that first inspired my love of music: the American Jazz scene. I decided to get back into serious music and do something personal for my soul. In the fall of 2008, I remembered a conversation I had with Jimmy Scott in Milan, so I gave him a call and asked him if he wanted to record some of the American Songbook with me. When he said yes on the phone, my dreams to get a record done with Jimmy Scott and some of my favorite musicians seemed to becoming a reality. Then I found out that he was seriously sick but wanted to do a last record...and if we decided to do it, it had to happen immediately. I became obsessed with the idea that musicians from all different kinds of backgrounds and all different ages should get together to make Jimmy´s artistry of masterful story-telling public and available for future generations. That dream came true in bringing Jimmy together with such legends as Quincy Jones, Arturo Sandoval, James Moody, Monica Mancini, David Sanborn, Madeleine Peyroux and Joe Pesci to name a few.     Jimmy's spirit, love for life and his incredible story-telling artistry kept my hopes up, finally getting me back on my feet again, and remembering the things that are important in life.  Love!  I believe it's the only reason for human beings to be on this planet.  We have to follow our heart and inner voice. If we stop doing that, we are lost."     ABOUT RALF KEMPER Producer / President of Eden River Records Born in 1958, Kemper started to play classical piano at the age of 3 and began formal piano study at the age of 6. Growing up a musical prodigy in the 60's & 70's, Kemper was absorbing all kinds of music from blues to rock to jazz. As an adult, he started a production company for scoring commercials. Kemper became a Latin Grammy winner in 2010 with Arturo Sandoval´s record A Time For Love. He has completed producing the star-studded tribute album for Jimmy Scott along with it's companion documentary film I Go Back Home - Jimmy Scott which has been featured on many prestigious film festivals in 2016. Kemper is currently producing Joe Pesci´s new record and completing Alan Broadbent's Orchestral Sessions recorded at Abbey Road.   ABOUT THE LABEL    German label Eden River Records, based in Wuppertal (North-Rhine Westphalia), focuses on a variety of genres: from jazz and blues to classical. CEO Ralf Kemper has worked as a producer, composer, audio engineer, and has served as a consultant for over 25 years in Music & TV Commercial Production. He says "We believe in the original way of listening: sit down close your eyes and let the music take you on a journey." Eden River Records is a company built around the pursuit of high quality audio recording. It focuses on preserving and enhancing sound quality, delivering the music as beautifully and naturally as possible. Works are offered in 180 gr audiophile vinyl format in carefully manufactured top quality CDs and in high-resolution digital formats (96khz 24bit) for download. The label's mission and purpose are simple, as it provides music by enthusiasts for enthusiasts!

[duaneiac]

The one time I got to see Jimmy Scott was at Yoshi's where he was featured guest with the Hank Crawford - Jimmy McGriff band.  He did a version of "Some One To Watch Over Me" that I swear could have made a grown man cry, it was so emotionally touching.  I don't know if I need to hear a version of it featuring Renee Olstead singing it with him.

[Hardbopjazz]

Yeah, Jimmy Scott was one of a kind. I saw him once too. He was outstanding. 

[optatio]

I saw Jimmy Scott live with the Jazz Expressions – Glen Pearson (p), Hillard Greene ((b), Victor Jones (dr) – at JazzFest Berlin 1995. He went under the skin.