1956-1957 - USA, NYC
The Complete Tony Scott - Tony Scott and His Orchestra NL46060
Record Liner Notes
by Radio Corporation of America

Tony Scott plays the clarinet- just how well is for each of you to determinate as you listen to this recording.
In a number of Jazz polls conducted this past season, enough jazz critics and just plain people thought that Tony Scott played jazz clarinet better then any other living musician so that he topped these polls by substantial margins. His work is highly recommended; it is always fresh, vigorous, imaginative and compellingly alive.
He is his own master, a restless soul who conforms to no particular pattern, an articulate individual who relentlessly seeks the road to perfection. In his long musical career, Tony Scott has found himself playing many different parts.
He has been the guiding force of his own quartet; he has fronted a big band, a tentet and a quartet-all for one disc; he has directed an Orchestra in support of the magnificent Harry Belafonte; he has been a sideman, but never less than a star in his own right; he has appeared in the solo spotlight, swinging around Europe, creating sensations especially in Denmark, Holland, Germany and Sweden.

However , in this career Tony Scott not once has had the opportunity to front a big band from the start of the recording to its conclusion. The Complete Tony Scott brilliantly covers that grave omission. When this album was in its informative stages, Scott was given relative carte blache. The songs are largely of his choosing; he hired the arrangers, picked the musicians, set the tempos, and saw to it that the recorded sound was as he thought it should be. He wanted this big band album to be danceable, listenable, exciting, stimulating and swinging. Such it is, and so he dedicates it to William Basie of Redbank, New Jersey. The recording was made last winter in four different sessions at New York's Webster Hall. Moonlight Cocktail, I surrender Dear and Under a Blanket of Blue were recorded first, and this was the band:

For A Blues Serenade, Just One Of Those Things and Walkin', Frank Foster replaces Sims.
For I Found a million Dollar Baby, Skylark and Fingerpoppin' Blues, Sims replace Foster, Bernie Glow replaced Nottingham, Leslie Grinage replaced Hinton, and Paul Motian was the drummer.
For Lady is the Tramp, Time to go and I'll remember April, Foster was back in the sax section for Sims, Charles replaced Terry, Wendell Culley replaced Carisi, Bill Hughes replaced Truitt , and Osie Johnson was again the drummer.
There are two extended pieces in the album: on the first Fingerpoppin' Blues, the order of solos is Clark Terry, Thad Jones, Benny Powell, Sahib Shihab
On the second, Time to go the order is Tony Scott, Sahib Shihab, Thad Jones, Frank Wess(flute), Benny Powell, Frank Foster, Joe Newman and Bill Evans.

We also credit the arrangers. Sonny Truitt is responsible for Moonlight Cocktail, A Blues Serenade, I found a Million Dollar Baby; Nat Pierce for I surrender Dear, Under a Blanket of Blue and Just one of those things; John Carisi for I'll remember April and Skylark ; Bill Finegan for The Lady is a Tramp; Bill Evans for Walkin' and Tony Scott for writing and arranging Time to go and Fingerpoppin' Blues.