Coming later this year on Basta Audio-Visuals:
Recordings by Six—and Sometimes Seven—Musicians
Featuring Raymond Scott, Dorothy Collins, Jerry Winner, Dick Mains,
Joe Palmer, Irving Manning, and 18-year-old drummer Kenny Johns.
RSQ drummer Kenny Johns
It's a different band than the original 1937-39 RSQ, but trademark Scott quirks abound: wit, sophistication, and a touch of eccentricity. Although rowdy bebop was the rage in those days, Scott preferred a more sculpted, controlled approach—jazz with a pop sensibility. His arrangements were spiced with unpredictable twists and his players crafted sharp, tasteful solos. The RSQ was complex and hyperactive, with an undercurrent of wry mischief, befitting the band's namesake.
Projected CD tracks include the following Scott originals:
"Street Corner in Paris"
"Snake Woman"
"Bird Life in the Bronx"
"Happy Farmer"
"Good Listening (Theme)"
"Blizzard Wit"
"Curley Cue"
"The Penguin"
"Question Mark (?)"
... along with parlor-jazz arrangements of the light classics "Humoresque" and "Song of India," and over a dozen idiosyncratic Scott arrangements of Tin Pan Alley wunderwerks. Also making its CD debut, Raymond goes lunar with the visionary opus:
the First Experimental Rocket Express to the Moon"
Remember: it ain't cartoon-jazz. But stay tooned.
