Tony Scott

Voted

the world's

best

contemporary

Jazz clarinetist

go to welcome: a short biography

The most exciting jazz musician playing today. (John S. Wilson-The New York Times)

The guiding force on the clarinet in contemporary jazz, as well as a forceful spokesman on several other instruments. (Whitney Balliett, The New Yorker)

Scott ...among the few true masters in contemporary jazz. (Leonard Feather)

He plays it with sound like an oboe forged out of cast iron, with a power that makes Sidney Bechet seems gentle....his Blues for Charlie Parker will remain the high spot of Jazz Expo 70.
(James Greenwood-Daily Mail)

A warmth and conviction that few jazz clarinetists have ever possessed...the best of the modern clarinetists.  (Whitney Balliett, The New Yorker)

Tony Scott is a jazz musician who takes an imaginative, wide-range view of music.
(John Wilson, New York Time)

The biggest sound in the world. (Perry Robinson)

Scott is the powerful new influence in jazz, he has won more polls then you shake a ballot box at.
(A. Sasso-Escapade) .

Great Scott ! (Bruce Mitchell-Esquire)

Our finest contemporary clarinetist. (Nat Hentoff-The Jazz Review)

We never thought it was humanly possible to produce such a loud sound from a clarinet.
(Hideo Shiraki)

Lean of body and with features in the mold of his Sicilian heritage, Scott and his clarinet become a fused entity. In this day of cataloging of musicians, he is the complete master of his instrument. He can fit himself into a group of any musical calling, although his preferences are in the modern jazz idiom. Tony regards his independence of musical thought as a long stride toward the purity he carries as a yardstick. (Dave Jampel, The Dude)

The art of Tony Scott is something too vast to encompass. Whatever the tempo, the mood, he paints it with a fine brush. He painted a multitude of moods, soft and mellow, fast and furious.
(1957-from South African's newspaper)

Tony Scott is a restless, original and innovative genius who, more than any other major musician today, has traveled, played and preached jazz throughout the world. (Bill Simon)

And now Ambassador Scott. (Burt Korall-Melody Maker)

I am sure that you had many memorable experiences while you were visiting the different countries, and that you were able, through the medium of music, to create among the musicians with whom you met, as well your audience, a feeling of friendship for our country....I wish to commend you for the part you are taking in helping to establish a firm foundation for good will among your fellow men, which is so important in the world today. (Vice President Richard Nixon)

Nobody beats the gums like Tony Scott: shaven-headed, bearded, dressed in black leotards and riding boots, the nostrils flared and the slanting eyes glittering like shimitars, he is the Taras Bulba of Bebop. Hind legs drop off donkeys and lights dim in the face of such verbal voltage.
(Brian case, Melody maker 1981)

When you meet and become acquainted with Scott, the restlessness basic to his personality soon makes itself apparent: He is not one who can sit quietly for long; the view from the top of the next hill is a constant lure. (Burt Korall)

“I don’t play the clarinet as an instrument,
I play the clarinet as part of my body and spirit.

I don't try to play clarinet, I almost act as if it isn't there, I never practice, I don't warm up. I go down a scale toodle-oodle-oodle, make sure the clarinet works, that's all I do. The clarinet works or it doesn't work. I don't give it a second chance."
(Tony Scott)