Tom Scott, The LA Express, and Me…
I was obsessed with music and everything about it. Not only how to play saxophone, clarinet and flute, but I was obsessed with learning how to arrange. I also spent hours on the weekends dropping the needle down on the record for only a few seconds and then pulling it off. I’d try to pick off all the notes I was hearing. Whether it was Benny Goodman, John Coltrane, Cannonball (Adderley) or an entire arrangement by Count Basie – whatever it was – I just wanted to know how music was built. I wanted to understand what the component elements were. I just got way into it.
Tom Scott
As a young sax player coming up, I was particularly struck by the records by the Miles Davis Sextet. There was Cannonball, John Coltrane and Miles, and the three of them represented three unique styles of playing. On paper, you couldn’t imagine how it would work stylistically. Miles was sparse and classy; Coltrane was always searching for something deep, and Cannonball was always so jovial. And I was always drawn to him, and not only because of his stunning originality and technique. Cannonball just always sounded happy to me, as if he was always reveling in the joy of making music.
Tom Scott and his Holy Trinity
The Honeysuckle Breeze (1967) signed by Tom
Regarding the “Starsky & Hutch” theme: In 1975, I gave a talk about my life as a composer/saxophone player in Hollywood studios to an audience of pre-teen girls at a private school in Bel Air. I played a reel-to-reel tape of Carole King singing "Jazzman" without any sax, then played along ‘live’ the second time. The girls seemed to enjoy my talk. I had done several ‘Career Day’ lectures like this one, and afterwards pretty much forgot about it. In the meantime: “Starsky & Hutch” was first aired in April 1975 as a ‘Made-for-Television’ movie on ABC. It was a ratings winner, and so the following fall it was slated to return to the air as a weekly series. The first year of the show had a main title theme edited down from the chase climax cue in Lalo Schifrin’s score for the original TV Movie. It was rhythm-based and had no melody. However, once the show was picked up for a second season in the summer of 1976, the producers (Aaron Spelling & Leonard Goldberg) decided to have a new, more recognizable theme for the opening title sequence. Right around that time I got a call from my film-scoring agent Al Bart. He had just spoken to producer Joe Narr at Spelling-Goldberg Productions. It was an unusual call, Bart recalled. “My 12-year-old daughter saw one of your clients give a career lecture at her school”, Narr said. “She suggested to me that he compose the new theme music for Starsky & Hutch—his name is Tom Scott.” And with that left-field endorsement, I was hired to do a demo session of three different tunes—hopefully one of them would be chosen. I was thrilled to learn the producers had chosen demo song #1—and it became the ‘Starsky & Hutch Theme’!
Tom Scott and the unintended virtues of community service
Each movie has its own set of parameters, but one thing is constant – your job as the film composer is to help the director realize his/her vision. The director is “The Boss” and the goal is to make him or her (and hopefully the studio) happy. It was a particular honor to work with Sidney Poitier, who directed Stir Crazy and Hanky Panky. In both cases, Sidney gave me the freedom to write what I felt. He heard those scores for the first time as we were recording them in the studio with an orchestra. How nice it is to have someone trust you that much!
Tom Scott
Tom Scott & The L.A. Express (1974) signed by Tom
I’ve gone headlong into building a new website. I’m trying to collate things like the film music that’s in the libraries of Fox, MGM and Universal into a catalog that’s accessible through the site. Clearly, websites have become the best ways of promoting yourself. I never thought I’d see the day where record companies would make me an offer and I could say, ‘I think I can do better on my own, guys.' It’s amazing what recording artists accepted for so many years. The record company would say, ‘We will pay you money to make a record. You make that record, then you give it to us, and we’ll give you a royalty of 10 to 15 percent. And out of that money, you will pay us back what it cost to make the record, and we will own it, lock, stock and barrel.’ And we all naively said, ‘Yeah, great, sign me up.’ That kind of deal doesn’t sound so attractive anymore. They took advantage of countless young, up-and-coming artists. George Harrison even told me stories about how badly the Beatles became victims of that system.
Tom Scott
About ten years ago a friend of mine was recruited to join the engineering faculty at Berklee College of Music. We had a going away party for her and she had the Berklee catalog with her. I was looking through it and was absolutely blown away by all the offerings. One of the courses listed was Jazz-Fusion 101: A Study of the Music of Tom Scott and the Brecker Bros. You know, I would love to take that course because I don’t have a clue as to what I’m doing! I’m just making one record after the next. If that turns out to be a style, pattern or something that you can make a course out of – fantastic!
Tom Scott
Livin’ It Up (1968) signed by Tom, Jimmy Smith
Arranger, composer, conductor, and saxophonist, Tom Scott is one of the most prolific musicians whom you have heard but possibly don't know. His saxophone credits include Blondie's "Rapture," Carole King's "Jazzman," Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love For You," Paul McCartney and Wings "Listen To What The Man Said," Joni Mitchell's "Free Man In Paris," and Rod Stewart's "Do You Think I'm Sexy," among countless others. Oh yeah, he also wrote the horn arrangements and played on Steely Dan's Aja, and he even found the time to play the lyricon, an obscure electronic wind instrument, on Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." Tom also composed film and television scores and was a member of The Blues Brothers band, appearing on their first album, Briefcase Full Of Blues, although a salary squabble resulted in his absence in the film. I guess he wasn't nicknamed Tom "Triple Scale" Scott on the liner credits for nothing! A three time Grammy winner (with thirteen nominations), Tom has released more than thirty albums as a leader and appeared on hundreds of sessions in an amazing and varied career, and he's not done yet.
Born in Los Angeles, Tom was surrounded by music. His father, Nathan Scott, was an accomplished film and television composer as well as a pianist and trombonist, as Tom remembered, "Dad spent many years composing and conducting music for films and television. Beginning in 1952, he arranged and orchestrated for “Dragnet” theme composer Walter Schumann, later taking over as composer on that Jack Webb series. He later joined the roster at CBS-TV composers along with Lalo Schifrin and others, scoring episodes of “Laramie” “Wagon Train,” “Have Gun-Will Travel”, “Rawhide,” “The Untouchables,” “My Three Sons” and other television series of the 50’s and 60’s. He scored two “Twilight Zones,” including the classic 1960 episode “A Stop at Willoughby”. He began working on “Lassie” in 1963 and scored all of its episodes until the show ended in 1973... Clearly, I was born into a very musical household. My Dad never pushed me, but once I started playing clarinet at age eight, I was hooked!" Clearly, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
Tom Cat (1975) signed by Tom
As a teenager, Tom played in bands and though he enrolled at the University of Southern California, he dropped out after his freshman year to concentrate on his burgeoning music career, "“The L.A. scene was great for studio musicians in that era. There was a group of producers cranking out records with lots of musicians, even if some of them may have been overproduced and had too many people on them. But it was a lot of fun, and there was great camaraderie between the musicians." It's a long, long way stylistically from playing and sitting in with Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan to the pablum pop of the Partridge Family or the 5th Dimension, but Tom had the skills to adapt and flourish. Even the great Quincy Jones recognized his talent as early as January, 1970 when Q gave him a shoutout in an LA Times interview. " Like Tom Scott, the saxophonist, he's twenty-one and out of sight! Plays any idiom you can name, and blows like crazy on half a dozen horns." Q knowed, he always did...
Blow It Out (1977) signed by Tom
When Tom wasn't participating in robust studio sessions in Los Angeles, he was holding court at the Baked Potato, a vaunted and appropriately named venue, "In 1972, I led the house band on Tuesday night at the Baked Potato in North Hollywood, CA. At that time, the personnel consisted of Mike Wofford on piano, Chuck Domanico on bass, and John Guerin on drums. We were a ‘straight ahead’ jazz band for several months. Mike and Chuck, for unrelated reasons, left the band around the same time. John suggested Max Bennett as a replacement bassist. On Fender Rhodes we asked someone who had been listening at the bar on many Tuesday nights—Joe Sample, of the Crusaders. We then added a young guitar player, Larry Carlton. Max wrote the first tunes that helped shape the sound of this new band. They were jazzy melodies with a distinct R&B or Rock feel and, at the time, quite revolutionary. Max and I began to expand the bands’ library with more of these ‘hybrid’ tunes. The audience grew quickly and in a matter of months, it was standing room only on Tuesday nights at the Baked Potato. Clearly, this new sound had great appeal and set us apart from other local bands of that era. Producer/guitarist and friend Louie Shelton came in the club to hear us one night, and casually suggested we call our band “The LA Express”—we thought it was a great idea!"
Land’s End (1974) signed by Tom, Jimmy Webb
A great name and a marvelously talented band, Tom caught the attention of Joni Mitchell and he would go on to appear on four of her records, "“The first time I was called to work with her, I was still thinking she was a folk singer, and I suppose her roots were in that genre at the time. But this record (For The Roses in 1972) was where she started to break out into whatever style you want to call her music, since she’s so hard to categorize. She played me a tune she’d written about Beethoven ("Judgment of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig’s Tune)"), and it was just a jaw-dropping experience. It was about what might have been his inner feelings about certain things. It was just so deep, and way beyond any kind of folk music I’d ever heard. She’s a supreme artist." Tom also appeared on Court and Spark, which yielded the hits "Help Me" and "Free Man In Paris" expanding Joni's commercial appeal on mainstream radio.
Bobby Darin Sings Doctor Doolittle (1967) signed by Tom and Roger Kellaway
In support of her record, Joni Mitchell enlisted Tom Scott and the LA Express to be her backing band, as Tom recalled, “We started what was supposed to be a six-week college tour to promote that record, but the album did so well that the tour got extended into March and April. Then we were doing a summer tour. By September, we were on stage at Wembley Stadium in England with 100,000 spectators, on a bill with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Bob Dylan with The Band, and none if it was expected. Based on that tour, we then did the live album Miles Of Aisles. Of her talent during the ten-month tour, Tom remarked, "Joni was an inspirational live performer—I never heard her screw up a lyric or flub a chord once in over 70 shows!"
Mitch Towne, Andrew Synowiec, Tom Scott, JR Robinson
I saw Tom recently at Birdland in New York City on July 22, 2023, a rare visit back east as he has been doing mostly studio and film work over the years and rarely tours. Tom was a special guest, sitting in with SRT, a jazz trio led by John "JR" Robinson, an equally gifted and prolific Los Angeles based studio veteran and drummer. JR has played on countless hits from Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, Donna Summer to Madonna, The Weeknd and Lady Gaga. JR is widely believed to be the most recorded drummer in history as the songs he has played on have sold more than five-hundred million copies, including the iconic Quincy Jones' produced "We Are The World." Filling out the trio was Hammond B3 organist Mitch Towne and guitarist Andrew Synowiec, both accomplished session players. They opened with an original song "Burn The Bridge" which featured some extended and sinewy guitar solos backed by the stout drums of JR, a human metronome, and some new tunes off their forthcoming album. Another highlight was a cover of the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive," with greasy organ fills and taut drum rolls, and Tom flashing his still serious chops.
Spirit Feel (1967) signed by Tom, Roger Kellaway
After the show, I visited with Tom, and he was warm and gracious as he signed his vinyl. I lamented that he rarely toured back east, "You know, I've been back east more than you know, but you just haven't seen me. I have been doing a lot of work with the Steinhardt School (part of New York University) working on their archives and doing some interviews." He smiled when he saw the Don Ellis album, "Wow, this is where it all started, I was just a kid, what a band that was and Don was such a great player." When I handed him Roger Kellaway's Spirit Feel, he smiled, "My first feature on an album," he said, pointing to the cover credit, "You know, Roger's great and he's still going strong, And Bobby Darin? What a talent he was, it was such a loss to lose him so young." Of his debut release in 1967, The Honeysuckle Breeze, when he was only nineteen, Tom said, "This was with the Wrecking Crew," a famed group of first call musicians who helped create Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound and played on countless hits with The Beach Boys, Ike and Tina Turner, Frank Sinatra et al, "This was before Glen Campbell became Glen Campbell," he laughed as he scanned the album credits which had Glen on guitar, and included Carol Kaye on bass and Hal Blaine on drums who reportedly played on more than one hundred-forty Top Ten hits. Yes, this is not among them, although it was released on Impulse, the jazz label preferred by John Coltrane. The Honeysuckle Breeze features slight covers of The Beatles, Donovan and Jefferson Airplane, and has a version of Coltrane's "Naima," although clocking in under three minutes, it is as slight as it is forgettable. At least the artwork holds up as a testament to 1960's zeitgeist!
New York Connection (1975) signed by Tom
When Tom saw New York Connection, he lit up, "When you walk in a studio and see Chuck Findley (on trumpet), Richard Tee (on keyboards), Bob James (on electric piano), Hugh McCracken (on guitar), Eric Gale (on guitar) Ralph MacDonald (on percussion) and Steve Gadd (on drums), you know it's gonna be a great record and it is!" He recited the names in a burst that suggested the recording was done last month, rather than nearly fifty years ago. The only player he omitted was his friend and frequent collaborator George Harrrison who played slide guitar on "Appolonia (Foxtrata)." A remarkable collection of musicians, I thanked Tom for his time, his generosity and, especially, his music.
Live At Monterey! (1966) signed by Tom
A formidable studio musician, composer and performer, Tom Scott has graced so many iconic recordings with artists as disparate as Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, Neil Diamond, Richie Havens, Rickie Lee Jones and Peggy Lee in his lengthy career. Interestingly, he cites Steely Dan's Aja as perhaps his favorite, "That's one of those records that's very unique. It belies the time in which it was made. In other words, you put it on, it could have been made yesterday. It doesn't have 1975 stamped on it, you know?"
Thankfully, Tom put his stamp on so many recordings and we get to revel in the richness of his artistry as a result.
Choice Tom Scott Cuts (per BKs request)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEx53W-qcYw
“Gotcha (Starsky & Hutch Theme)" Blow It Out 1977
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jz_vytdLK8
"Appolonia (Foxtrata)" New York Connection with George Harrison 1975
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyHU7WAIrII
"Naima" The Honeysuckle Breeze 1967
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrSFuAIw_i4&list=PL7x90QIm3bJp4Qil7BymAsB4ScP-V45lS&index=1
"Rock Island Rocket" Tom Cat 1974
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcsoeVoPaIA
“Pick Up The Pieces" Them Changes 1990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yiHs-MVGWc&list=PLrVwrW4BjwaK1oJmZn53iBYTUVsZ5nkGB&index=2
"Gotta Give It Up" Bluestreak 1996
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBdXxST1d2s&t=51s
"Burn That Bridge" SRT live at Birdland July 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzrDs_Vaho4
"Black Cow" Aja with Steely Dan 1977
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PicdXFEj8fE
"Them Changes" Them Changes 1990
Bonus Picks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHCdS7O248g
"Rapture" Blondie 1981
"Blondie’s producer, Michael Chapman, called me one day and requested a session that night, it was for “Rapture." He played the song for me and then asked me to 'fill in these holes.' The saxophones you hear are all me, comprised of four tenor sax tracks blended together. I met Debbie Harry that night. She was very nice to me… and I thought she was hot!"
Tom Scott
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewxmv2tyeRs
"Saving All My Love For You"
Whitney Houston 1985
“Saving All My Love for You” was recorded with producer/songwriter Michael Masser at the controls. Whitney did not attend the session personally. However, she did something I have never forgotten – three months later, as the album was being released, she took the time to call and thank me for my performance. Very classy!"
Tom Scott
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTWH1Fdkjow
"Soul Man" Blues Brothers live on SNL 1978
"I wasn’t exactly a founding member – more accurately an 'added' member. The first official Blues Brothers gig was as opening act for Steve Martin at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles for a week. I was not a member at the time, but I got a call from Tom Malone. Tom asked me if I could substitute for him in the horn section of the Blues Brothers band until his wife delivered their baby in New York. I said sure, so I filled in for “Bones” Malone until Thursday of that week. However, I had apparently impressed John Belushi – instead of thanking me and sending me on my way, “Uncle Johnny” asked me to join the band as a regular! “We’ll just have four horns instead of three!” He could be a really great guy – not to mention funny!"
Tom Scott
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W8KGSD-aNE
"Judgment Of The Moon and Stars (Ludwig's Tune)" For The Roses with Joni Mitchell 1972
"I had done that one record with her, and she said 'Listen, will your band record on my next album?' She had never, up until that point, recorded with a band. She would overdub a bass player, then send him home, overdub a horn player, then send him home...I can only speculate as to her motives, but I guess she just wanted to move into another area. When you consider where she went on to — some very esoteric jazz exploration — I guess I was kind of the beginning of that. It turned into a real good thing for us, in terms of getting the exposure of being her backup band."
