Tom Scott (musician)

Thomas Wright Scott (born May 19, 1948) is an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He was a member of The Blues Brothers and led the jazz fusion group L.A. Express.

For other people of that name, see Tom Scott (disambiguation).

Tom Scott
Scott at a Beatles convention in 2013
Background information
Birth nameThomas Wright Scott
Born (1948-05-19) May 19, 1948
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresJazz, blues, R&B, rock, pop
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • composer
  • arranger
InstrumentsSaxophone
Years active1965–present
LabelsImpulse!, Flying Dutchman, A&M, Ode, Columbia, Elektra, Atlantic, GRP
Associated actsL.A. Express, The Blues Brothers
Websitetomscottmusic.com

Biography

Scott was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of film and television composer Nathan Scott, who had more than 850 television credits and more than 100 film credits as a composer, orchestrator, and conductor, including the theme songs for Dragnet and Lassie.[1]

His professional career began as a teenager as leader of the jazz ensemble Neoteric Trio. After that, he worked as a session musician. He wrote the theme songs for the television shows Starsky and Hutch and The Streets of San Francisco. In 1974, with the L.A. Express he composed the score for the animated movie, The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat. He played the soprano saxophone solo on the number-one hit single "Listen to What the Man Said" by the band Wings. In 1976, he played the theme "I Still Can't Sleep" in Taxi Driver. In 1982, he collaborated with Johnny Mathis on "Without Us", the theme to the 1980s sitcom Family Ties. He also played the lyricon, an electronic wind instrument on Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".

Scott was a founding member of the Blues Brothers Band, despite his absence in the two films, The Blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000. According to Bob Woodward's account in Wired, a biography of John Belushi, Scott left the band after their 1980 tour over a salary dispute. However, he reunited with Dan Aykroyd and the Blues Brothers Band in 1988 to record a few tracks for The Great Outdoors.[2]

Scott led the house band on two short-lived late-night talk shows: The Pat Sajak Show and The Chevy Chase Show. He was music director for the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, several Emmy Awards telecasts from 1996 to 2007, Ebony's 50th Birthday Celebration, and the People's Choice Awards telecasts.

He has dozens of solo recordings for which he collected 13 Grammy nominations (three of which he won). He has numerous film and television scoring credits, including composing and conducting the score for the movie Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and appeared on records by the Beach Boys, Blondie ("Rapture"), Grateful Dead, George Harrison, Whitney Houston ("Saving All My Love for You"), Quincy Jones, Carole King, Richard Marx ("Children of the Night"), Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Eddie Money, Olivia Newton-John, Pink Floyd, Helen Reddy, Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan ("Black Cow"), Steppenwolf, and Rod Stewart ("Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?").

He produced two albums for tenor vocalist Daniel Rodriguez. The Spirit of America has sold over 400,000 copies to date. Scott is also a member of the Les Deux Love Orchestra and has conducted over 30 symphony orchestras around the U.S. as music director for Rodriguez. His song "Today" is credited as the sample for the hip-hop classic "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" by Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth.

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Tom Scott among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[3]

Discography

As leader

With The L.A. Express

With The Blues Brothers

With the GRP All-Star Big Band

As sideman

With Don Ellis

With Joan Baez

With Richard "Groove" Holmes

With Tim Buckley

With Victor Feldman

  • Seven Steps to Heaven (Choice, 1973)

With Robbie Williams

With Jimmy Webb

With Tom Waits

With Carole King

With Eric Carmen

With Lulu

  • Lulu (Polydor, 1973)

With Juice Newton

With Alphonse Mouzon

With Dalbello

With Johnny Rivers

  • New Lovers and Old Friends (Epic, 1975)
  • Outside Help (Soul City, 1977)

With Richie Havens

  • Mirage (A&M, 1977)

With George Benson

With Stephen Bishop

  • Bish (ABC Records, 1978)

With Tina Turner

With Michael Franks

With Michael Bublé

With Peter Allen

With Eddie Money

With Barry Manilow

With Joe Cocker

With Neil Diamond

With Sara Bareilles

With Josh Groban

  • Awake (143 Records, 2006)

With Rickie Lee Jones

With Frankie Valli

With Barbra Streisand

With Billy Preston

With Rod Stewart

With Dan Fogelberg

With Aretha Franklin

  • You (Atlantic, 1975)

With Donovan

With Art Garfunkel

With Glen Campbell

With Oleta Adams

With Peggy Lee

With Randy Newman

With Diane Schuur

  • Love Songs (GRP, 1993)

With Oliver Nelson

With Thelma Houston

With Michael McDonald

With Bill Plummer

  • Cosmic Brotherhood (1968)

With Phoebe Snow

  • Something Real (Elektra, 1989)

With Minnie Riperton

With Al Jarreau

With Richard Marx

With Joni Mitchell

With Howard Roberts

  • The Magic Band – Live at Dontes (1968, released 1998)
  • The Magic Band – Vol. 2 (1968, released 1998)

With Natalie Cole

With Bernie Taupin

With Deniece Williams

  • Hot on the Trail (Columbia, 1986)

With Sarah Vaughan

With Helen Reddy

With Lalo Schifrin

With Olivia Newton-John

With Otis Spann

With Christopher Cross

With Boz Scaggs

With Ringo Starr

  • Ringo (Apple Records, 1973)

With Dolly Parton

With Gábor Szabó

With Bob Thiele Emergency

  • Head Start (Flying Dutchman, 1969)

With George Harrison

With Steely Dan

References
  1. Burlingame, Jon (March 3, 2010). "Nathan Scott, 94, scored TV shows". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  2. Woodward, Bob (1987). Wired. Simon & Schuster.
  3. Rosen, Jody (June 25, 2019). "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
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