Arnold Eidus (1922-2013)

Raymond Scott and Arnold Eidus, 1950

With sadness we note the passing on June 3 of world-renowned violinist Arnold Eidus, at age 90. With pride we note his Raymond Scott connection: in 1950 Eidus performed in a duet setting at Carnegie Hall the only 20th century public recital of Scott's Suite for Violin and Piano. The five-movement Suite was Scott's only known "serious," classical composition, and we've heard anecdotal accounts that it was composed specifically as a showcase for Mr. Eidus. Though he was only 27 at the time, it was not the first time Eidus had appeared at Carnegie Hall—he had performed there as soloist on Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole at age thirteen!

A rehearsal recording of the Suite was discovered in the Scott collection at the Marr Sound Archives, and was released last year on Basta, coupled with a 21st century recording by Davide Rossi and Ramon Dor.

While researching liner notes for the CD, I interviewed Eidus by phone at his Boca Raton home on August 24, 2011. He was a gracious man, and while he could not recall recording or performing the Suite ("I've done thousands of sessions over the years"), he did remember Scott—fondly. "I got along well with him, never had a problem," Mr. Eidus recounted. "I had a pleasant time with him." Unlike a number of musicians who worked in the 1940s and '50s under the demanding bandleader, Eidus said, "I can't say anything bad about him." (Not that we were asking.) The 1950 disc did not indicate the identity of the pianist, but subsequent research revealed it was Carlo Bussotti, who had accompanied Eidus at the 1950 Carnegie concert.

Eidus enjoyed a storied career as a studio accompanist in the jazz, classical, pop, and Latin fields. His session logs include dates for Sinatra, Perez Prado, Wes Montgomery, Lena Horne, Cal Tjader, Doris Day, Freddie Hubbard, and hundreds more. Among his other professional pursuits, Eidus facilitated the hiring of musicians for various projects. When Scott was named conductor on TV's Your Hit Parade in 1950, he needed a string section. Eidus contracted a half-dozen players, and landed a violin chair in the YHP orchestra himself for a year or two. He also recalled touring briefly with Scott, and launched his own classical record label, Stradivari Records, in the 1950s. A busy man, now eternally at rest. Condolences to his family.

Mitzi Scott (July 18, 1918 - May 3, 2012)

Mitzi Scott passed away in Santa Clarita, CA, on May 3, 2012, at age 93. She was the widow of legendary composer, jazz bandleader and electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott.

Born Mathilde Waldman, on July 18, 1918, in New York City to Muriel and Arthur Waldman, she grew up in the city, where she started dancing at age 10, thus developing a lifelong passion.

From 1937-43 Mitzi was part of the Roxyette troupe at the famed Roxy Theater on West 50th Street. In 1943 she first appeared on Broadway, and eventually performed in the musicals Star and Garter (with Gypsy Rose Lee), Something for the Boys (with Ethel Merman), and the road company of Let's Face It (with Benny Rubin). She performed on three national USO tours, headlined by Bing Crosby, Jackie Cooper, Phil Silvers, Martha Raye, and James Cagney.

In 1946 she married Hewitt Clay Curtis. The marriage dissolved a year and a half later, after which she sold advertising for the Miami Daily News and the Long Island Star-Journal. She became a dance instructor for the world-renowned Arthur Murray Dance Studios, and then served as a District Manager for Avon Cosmetics.
     
Mitzi was introduced to Raymond Scott in July 1966, and they were married in January 1967. (It was Mitzi's second marriage, Raymond's third.) She lived with Scott in Farmingdale, Long Island, at Willow Park, a sprawling suburban industrial park where Scott rented a large space that he had fashioned into a home and electronics lab. Mitzi undertook the administration of Scott's businesses during a period when he was inventing now-historic electronic instruments and The Electronium, a machine that composed using artificial intelligence. When Scott was hired by Berry Gordy to work for Motown in 1971, the couple relocated to Los Angeles, with Mitzi coordinating most of the cross-country logistics.

In retirement, Scott suffered a major stroke in 1987, which eventually caused severe financial hardship for the couple. Mitzi nursed Raymond almost singlehandedly in their Van Nuys home until his death in February 1994, at age 85. Shortly after her husband's death, Mitzi donated his extensive collection of over 3,000 personally recorded discs and tapes, covering his career from 1932-1987, to the Marr Sound Archives at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. She sold Raymond's no-longer functioning Electronium to Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh in 1996, amid a resurgence of interest in her late husband's music and legacy.

In 1997, Mitzi moved to Santa Clarita and joined a troupe of former professional dancers called the Gingersnaps.  She was active in several charitable organizations, including Mes Amis, the North Hollywood Women’s Club, the Women’s Canadian Club and the Hope is Forever Foundation (City of Hope), for which she served as an officer. She was a member of the Sages group at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

She was a passionate animal lover, and regularly took in stray dogs and cats, and adopted rescue animals. In 2007 the National Wildlife Federation designated her back yard as a certified wildlife habitat. She told the Santa Clarita Signal, "Everybody who has a backyard ought to take care of the wildlife. It's very soothing to look out your window and see butterflies and birds."

Mrs. Scott is survived by four stepchildren: Carrie Makover, Stan Warnow, Deborah Scott Studebaker, and Elizabeth Adams, as well as fourteen grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 22, 11:00 am, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 24901 Orchard Village Road, Santa Clarita. A reception will follow in the church hall. The service is open to the public.

In lieu of cards and flowers, her family has requested that donations be made in the name of Mitzi Scott to City of Hope (via check payable to "Hope is Forever," mailed to Hope is Forever, c/o Chick Benveniste, 409 Meadows Drive, Glendale CA 91202), or online to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

What A Character

A few years ago David Garland, host of WNYC's SPINNING ON AIR, wrote to me:

I'm about a third of the way into Michael Chabon's [Pulitzer Prize winning novel], The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (published by Random House), and to my surprise Raymond Scott shows up as a character in the story. The novel is set in New York City, and at this point in the story it's 1940. They've just gone to a party for Salvador Dali:

"Most of the names were unfamiliar to Joe, but he did recognize Raymond Scott, a composer who had recently hit it big with a series of whimsical, cacophonous, breakneck pseudo-jazz pop tunes. Just the other day, when Joe stopped at Hippodrome Radio, they had been playing his new record, 'Yesterthoughts,' over the store PA. Scott was feeding a steady diet of Louis Armstrong platters to the portable RCA while explaining what he had meant when he referred to Satchmo as, 'the Einstein of the blues.' As the notes fluttered out of the fabric-covered loudspeaker, he would point at them, as if to illustrate what he was saying, and even tried to snatch at one with his hands. He kept turning the volume up, the better to compete with the less important conversations taking place around him."

A few pages later, Dali, who was wearing an old-fashioned diving suit, begins to suffocate, and Raymond Scott tries to remove Dali's metal helmet. In that scene, when someone suggests they remove Dali's helmet, Scott shouts, "What the f*ck do you think I'm trying to do?!" That seems uncharacteristic to me, but what the f*ck do I know about how much d*mn cursing Raymond did? So far, I'm enjoying the book a lot.
—David Garland

Another email I received today:

Hi: I am a librarian in San Bruno, CA and I have a patron who is trying to find the sound/music for something he thinks Raymond Scott wrote. Michael Chabon, in his "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," writes, "The doorbell played its weird tune, Raymond Scott's shortest composition, 'Fanfare for the Fuller Brush Man.'" Does such a composition exist and if yes, can I get the sheet music or do you know where the patron could hear it?
 Thank you in advance.

Although Scott released a tune titled "Yesterthoughts" in 1940, the events depicted in this novel, as well as the composition "Fanfare for the Fuller Brush Man," are creations from Chabon's imagination. Scott did, however, invent an electronic musical doorbell.

• Order the book from: Amazon

Les Paul & Raymond Scott

Raymond Scott's fellow/rival musician, inventor, and multi-track recording pioneer Les Paul died today at age 94. Details about this audio giant and his important accomplishments here.

Below is an excerpt from THE WORLD OF SOUND, a chapter I contributed to the SOUND/UNBOUND anthology, compiled by Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky:

In 1952, Raymond Scott designed and built two of the world’s first multi-track tape machines, capable of recording seven and fourteen parallel tracks on a single reel. Two years later, sonic maverick Les Paul made an eight-track prototype, and inventor Hugh Le Caine devised a way to mix-down six separate tape sources in 1955. But as author/music historian Thom Holmes points out, “nobody came close to matching Scott’s early achievement.” Scott filed two patents for his advancements in magnetic tape technology in 1953, and a third in ’59.

Neil Strauss included a chapter about Raymond Scott in his new book, EVERYONE LOVES YOU WHEN YOU’RE DEAD, and added this footnote:

"During an interview with Les Paul, the musician who helped develop the electric guitar and popularize multi-track recording, I mentioned Raymond Scott and accidentally set him off on a tirade. Evidently, the two were rival innovators. 'He used to come to my house,' Paul snapped. 'He sure had some equipment though. I envied him.'" 

PART FOUR: The Case of the Multiple Raymond Scotts

Raymond Scott had a wild imagination, yet the man born Harry Warnow chose a banal pseudonym. A Google search pinpoints plenty of Raymond Scotts who are not our Raymond Scott. Part four of a diversionary series (part 1, part 2, and part 3):

Raymond Scott: REBELLIOUS COUNTRY STAR

I learned of this Raymond Scott thru an email query to RaymondScott.com:

From: Georgia B.

Date: September 22, 2008 2:43:49 PM EDT

To: Jeff Winner

Subject: Young Ray Scott

Is the country singer, Ray Scott, that is

so popular now, Raymond Scott's son? They

don't have the same voice. I love the young

Ray Scott's bassy voice! And I love his music!!

Just curious,

Georgia B.

I explained to Georgia that there is no known blood relation. Yet the manifesto on young Scott's site reveals some striking similarities in musical philosophies: "I'm taking the bull by the horns and doing it my way, callin' the shots, and putting out an album on my own. This stuff is real, it's raw, and it's 100 percent Ray. I'm calling the project 'CRAZY LIKE ME,' I think you'll agree that's a pretty fitting title. The tattoo on my left arm says 'Create the Path,' damn right! The time has never been better in the music biz to do something different - independent of these narrow-minded, chicken-shit, so called behemoth record companies."

Our Raymond Scott didn't have tattoos and was not known to use colorful language like "damn right" or "chicken-shit," but he was often accused of being crazy. The two also share a penchant for descriptive titles. Examples from country Scott's albums include "Do It With The Lights On," "Ashtray On A Motorcycle," "Rats Don't Race," and "Sometimes The Bottle Hits You Back." Damn right, indeed. Check this video for "Hell Got Raised."

Jack Lawrence

With the possible exception of the oft-recorded "Mountain High, Valley Low" from the 1946 Broadway musical Lute Song, Raymond Scott's best-known compositions are instrumental. Defiantly so, one might say. His oddly juxtaposed passages, schizoid tempos and abrupt transitions don't lend themselves to songcraft. But that didn't deter one legendary Tin Pan Alley scribe: Jack Lawrence.

Lawrence has a monumental catalog: "All or Nothing at All," "Ciribiribin," "If I Didn't Care," "Poor People of Paris," "Sleepy Lagoon," "Sunrise Serenade"—you get the picture. Not exactly a one-hit wonder.

But Scott's publisher got the bright idea that some of the composer's more appealing instrumental hits could be born-again chart-toppers if re-targeted for the 1940s karaoke market. Lawrence tried to make these novelties singable: "Boy Scout in Switzerland," "Huckleberry Duck," and "In an 18th Century Drawing Room." The Andrews Sisters recorded "18th CDR" and the Scott archives contain radio airchecks of lesser-knowns performing the other two. Heard them? We have—and cringed. They don't add much to Scott's legacy, and it's doubtful they do much for Lawrence's. These vocal versions remain justifiably obscure.

Nonetheless, happy birthday Jack — born this day in 1912.

The School of Diversionary Nomenclature

Uncle Dave Lewis alerts us to this excerpt from a 1964 interview with composer Alec Wilder (1907-1980). Lewis points out that it "includes a mention of RS, not to mention a snappy piece that could almost pass for something by RS."

The work, "Jack, This is My Husband," was recorded by Wilder's Octet. Besides musical parallels, Wilder shared Scott's penchant for idiosyncratic instrumental titles (discussed in the interview excerpt). His compositions include "The Amorous Poltergeist," "Her Old Man Was Suspicious," and "Neurotic Goldfish." He was also not above titular puns, such as "Bassooner or Later" and "Little White Samba."

another centennial

The beautiful and talented (and tragic) Carole Lombard was born a century ago today. That makes her less than a month younger than Raymond Scott, with whom she also shares a film: Nothing Sacred (1937).

Scott and his Q compatriots headed west under contract to 20th Century Fox in late '37, less than a year after making their sensational Christmas 1936 CBS radio debut. Their first film assignment was a medley of familiar (non-Scott) tunes arranged in the idiosyncratic RSQ style, intended to accompany a cinematic fashion show. The Quintette is heard, but not seen, in the sequence, which occurs early in the film. The medley has never been commercially released, but if you see the film, you'll recognize the RSQ's unmistakable verve.

Scott and his band spent less than a year in filmdom. The residency was both productive and frustrating. During this time Scott expanded his sextet into a small orchestra and recorded scores of demos (which survive, and are being prepared for CD release). At the same time, he deplored the vacuousness of the motion picture industry. Explaining why he left in 1938 and returned to New York, Scott said he hated Hollywood "because they think everything is 'wonderful'."

Sound/Unbound

Paul D. Miller, a.k.a. DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid, has compiled a new book & CD set titled SOUND UNBOUND: Sampling Digital Music and Culture, published by MIT Press. Included in the text is a chapter, written by me (Jeff Winner), exploring Raymond Scott's pioneering electronic instruments & music, an introduction from Steve Reich, forward by Cory Doctorow, plus contributions from Chuck D of Public Enemy, Moby, Scanner (aka Robin Rimbaud), Pierre Boulez, Brian Eno, Douglas Kahn, & others.

On the accompanying CD (also available separately), Spooky weaves three tracks from the Raymond Scott Manhattan Reseach Inc. collection into his mega-mix along with Sonic Youth, John Cage, Phillip Glass, Aphex Twin, Einsturzende Neubauten, Iannis Xenakis, Terry Riley, Sun Ra, Marcel Duchamp, Morton Subotnick, William S. Buroughs, & Iggy Pop.

''A nice antidote to the usual way music history is often categorized. From RAYMOND SCOTT to the hidden racism in digital circuitry to a history of easy listening, there is enough inspiring weirdness here to fuel some musical fires for a good while.''
—DAVID BYRNE

''A marvelous collection! The essays criss-cross over many aspects of sound -- cosmic, chemical, political, economic. Plus you get to meet fascinating characters like Alex Steinweiss and synthesizer pioneer RAYMOND SCOTT. I love this book!''
—LAURIE ANDERSON

>> More info: MIT Press
>> More info: SoundUnbound.com
>> Order book/CD: Amazon.com
>> Order CD: Amazon.com

Ray Knew Diddley

Bo Diddley

Raymond Scott, born in 1908, never truly understood Rock & Roll. But he did know Bo — with whom he shared a mutual affinity for home-made musical instruments.

Ray met Bo Diddley (a/k/a Ellas McDaniel) when Scott was A&R Director for Everest Records. A surviving tape in the Scott archives from 1958 is a fascinating aural artifact of what may have been an audition; Scott twirls knobs and adjusts levels while Bo runs through several of what were, at the time, new Diddley tunes that have since become classics. Eventually Scott joins him on piano for an impromptu version of "Stormy Weather."

Bo Diddley died yesterday at age 79, during the 100th anniversary of Scott's birth. The world of music will miss them both.

In 2005, Neil Strauss wrote a feature about Diddley for ROLLING STONE, and mentioned the encounter with Raymond Scott:

There is a bootleg tape floating around of Raymond Scott, an inventive musical genius in his own right from the swing era, auditioning Bo Diddley for Everest Records. To hear it is to understand the challenge that Diddley was up against: Scott wanted Diddley to play guitar normally. But that wasn't how Diddley played. His music was all jittery high-end rhythm -- from the tremolo-drenched guitar to the constant hailstorm of maracas. The music Diddley was playing didn't swing or boogie-woogie. It was all about the guitar -- played with fat, clumsy thumbs and tuned to an open E. It wasn't commercial. It was strange.

"I couldn't play like other people wanted me to," Diddley says, with some pride. "I played backwards. You can't change my stuff. I am me."

Pearl Zimney Warnow

Pearl Zimney married Harry Warnow (Raymond Scott) in 1935. She was an essential part of Scott's life in the mid-1930s when he first achieved fame and recognition as a musical enfante terrible. She was present during the brief lifespan of his legendary "powerhouse" Quintette (1937-39), and she accompanied Raymond and his Quints to Hollywood in 1938. She was there during his foray into big band leadership (1939), and when he formed his first commercial electronic lab (Manhattan Research, Inc.) in 1946, the same year he composed the score for the hit Broadway musical Lute Song.

Besides being smart, beautiful, and resourceful, Pearl was an audio engineer (mentored by Scott) who in the 1930s occasionally "manned" the console at Scott's Universal Recorders studios in Manhattan.

"It was very interesting," she later recalled. "I remember once the famous jazz trumpeter Bunny Berigan came up with this singer—I forget her name. The two of them were high as a kite. I didn’t know anything about drugs then. But they were loopy."

Pearl and Harry had two children, Carolyn and Stanley. Stan is currently at work on a documentary about his dad.

"You could never make eye contact with Raymond, at least in his early years," Pearl reflected in a May 2000 interview. "His ability to connect with people, to have a real open relationship, it just wasn’t there—with musicians, with me. Raymond was an original, and I guess you could say a genius, but that encompasses a lot of things. He was different and difficult, and withdrawn. He had some very strange feelings and ideas. Though I loved him, I really did."

Pearl was born on this date in 1910. (She passed away on April 28, 2001.) The above quotes are from an extended interview with Pearl that appears in the Raymond Scott Quintette CD Microphone Music.

Pearl and Harry divorced in 1950. Two years later, she married Larry Winters. Pearl spent the rest of her long, productive, and buoyant life in Mamaroneck, NY.

Down to Earth—and leaving it

One of my favorite Raymond Scott compositions—and one of his few genuine pop songs—is "Coming Down to Earth." Scott composed it in 1936, before launching his seminal Quintette, but didn't record the tune until 1953, when it was released as a post-WWII orchestral period piece.

Rochester-based musician Dave Cross belatedly introduced me to the virtues of "Earth." Having heard only the nondescript RSO version, I couldn't understand why Cross cared enough to record the tune with his avant-weird band, Coffee, in the mid-1990s. Cross eventually sent a small stack of 7" singles with a skeletal but jaunty slide guitar take of "Coming Down to Earth" slotted between two Coffee originals. The arrangement (which clocked 1:06) was so radically different from Scott's, it was barely recognizable as the same composition. Yet Coffee retained the melody and structure, which gave me a deep appreciation of this pop gem.

The group later recorded a spooky synth cover of another little-known Scott 1950s orchestral work, "Naked City." I loved these recordings because they didn't attempt to recapture Scott's style; they reinvented Scott in a strikingly original way. Because of these imaginative takes, Coffee were invited to perform at the second (and last) multi-artist Scott tribute concert at New York's Bottom Line in 1997. (R. Stevie Moore joined them onstage.)

Several years ago I learned that Cross was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Phillip Marshall, one of his Coffee-mates, dropped me a note Saturday evening:

Dave Cross lost his seven year battle with a brain tumor last Friday. He was instrumental in getting "Coming Down to Earth" recorded by Coffee, which was really a duo of Dave and Tim Poland.

Dave wasn't much of a musician per se. However he was wildly creative with sound and with organizing Coffee events. He flagged me down 10 years ago because he had received the sheet music of "Coming Down to Earth" from you. (I had my brush with fame playing guitar with the wonderful Colorblind James Experience.) Neither he nor Tim could read music so they had me figure it out. Dave had the impression that no recording of the song existed. I had no idea of Scott's intentions with the piece, and I heard it as a whimsical yet sentimental ballad.

When Coffee was invited to play at the Bottom Line, they again recruited me for guitar. We played "Down to Earth," "Caterpillar Creep" and "City of New York." The Raymond Scott songs were the only remotely tuneful or melodic music Coffee ever played.

Dave will be missed but his spirit will be present anytime a creative person responds to the urge to reach beyond their own limitations and make something happen.

There will be a memorial service in Penfield, NY on Tuesday, May 1 at 11:00 am in Linear Park where Dave always found fishing quite good.

Our condolences to Dave's family and friends. We hope Coffee's two Scott covers make it to CD release. They were among the first new recordings to demonstrate how Scott's vintage music could be revitalized for the 21st century.

The Happy Farmers (named for a Scott tune) were formed a year ago to support Dave when things were going badly for him. True to form, Dave forged on for another year! L to R: Adam Wilcox, upright; Phil Marshall, guitar; Tim Poland, guitar; Dave Cross, snare and cymbal.