Home » Jazz Articles » Film Review » Jimmy Scott: I Go Back Home

Jimmy Scott: I Go Back Home

By Victor L. Schermer
September 12, 2016
View read count

Jimmy Scott: I Go Back Home
Kemper Music, Sine Qua Non Music
2016

"Little" Jimmy Scott (1925-2014) was for a long time the world's greatest jazz singer nobody ever heard of. Enormously talented, with an intuitive grasp of the jazz idiom and the blues, he began his ascendance as a singer with Lionel Hampton's band in the 1950s, and then almost vanished from the scene for three decades. In 1991, Velvet Underground guitarist

Lou Reed

guitar
1942 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Lou Reed and record producer Seymour Stein heard him sing at the funeral of singer and songwriter

Doc Pomus

composer / conductor
1925 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Doc Pomus. Impressed, they arranged record dates that spurred his revival, and during the next two decades, his albums and nightclub dates with a coterie of top instrumentalists rekindled his fan base and brought him renewed status, although still mainly among the cognoscenti.

Due to a genetic medical condition called Kallman syndrome, Scott's adolescent voice remained high register, and he stayed short in stature, not the best image for a crooner. But it wasn't his voice or stage persona that made an everlasting impression on

Ray Charles

piano and vocals
1930 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Ray Charles,

Quincy Jones

arranger
1933 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Quincy Jones, and others who heard or worked with him. Rather, it was his ability to express a song's story and emotions at the highest level of sensitivity and precision, yet with utter humility, authenticity, and devotion. Arguably on the same plane as

Billie Holiday

vocals
1915 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Billie Holiday, he was one of the great interpreters of jazz standards. Thus, he was a favorite of singers such as Holiday,

Dinah Washington

vocals
1924 - 1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Dinah Washington, Madonna, Frankie Valli, and many others.

The film Jimmy Scott: I Go Back Home is a documentary about Scott made in the last year or two of his life, when he was elderly and suffering from medical conditions that confined him to a wheelchair. It takes us through German record engineer and producer Ralf Kemper's ambitious, heartfelt, and risky project to come to America and make a recording of Scott, one of his jazz idols, with guest vocalists and a full orchestra. Kemper had to revive Scott from his bedridden condition, gather together guest artists and a costly studio orchestra, and make it all come together against great odds. Scott's biographer, David Ritz, provides the context and analysis. The two real life protagonists—Kemper and Scott—engage in conversations about their lives, dilemmas, hopes, and dreams, interspersed with excerpts from recording sessions, commentaries and tributes to Scott, and connecting scenes of travel, locales, and recording arrangements.

Kemper's project falls into two categories: late career "Duet" albums by the likes of

Frank Sinatra

vocals
1915 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Sinatra and

Tony Bennett

vocals
1926 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Tony Bennett, the latter of which was also filmed as a documentary; and films about jazz artists like

Pat Martino

guitar
1944 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Martino and

Frank Morgan

saxophone, alto
1933 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Morgan, whose careers were disrupted by tragic circumstances. A third category also suggests itself: films about the healing power of love and music. Scott was not "cured" by the experience (he died shortly thereafter), but his flagging spirit and vocal gifts were brought to life by the people around him. It's like watching a man go from a sorrowful dream spawned by illness into another dream of joy and fulfillment surrounded by best friends and the music he loves. Particularly gut-wrenching are Scott's interactions with actor and guitarist/singer Joe Pesci, who was a musical cohort and friend during their early days in the New York area. As they are recording their duet sessions, Pesci sits beside Scott and whispers in his ear or sits on the floor just below him, pouring affection and encouragement into him. Scott's singing often made people cry, and Pesci's unearthly tenderness evokes similar sentiments.

The film shows excerpts from recording sessions with Scott accompanied by saxophonist

David Sanborn

saxophone
1945 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">David Sanborn, pianist

Kenny Barron

piano
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Barron, saxophonist

James Moody

woodwinds
1925 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">James Moody, and organist

Joey DeFrancesco

organ, Hammond B3
1971 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Joey DeFrancesco, as well as singers

Renee Olstead

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Renee Olstead,

Monica Mancini

vocals
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Monica Mancini, and

Madeleine Peyroux

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Madeleine Peyroux, with cameo appearances by

Dee Dee Bridgewater

vocals
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Dee Dee Bridgewater and

Arturo Sandoval

trumpet
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Arturo Sandoval. Vibraphonist

Terry Gibbs

vibraphone
b.1924

" data-original-title="" title="">Terry Gibbs serves as a friendly adviser to producer Kemper. Sessions with the studio orchestra resonate and swing in high definition sound. The only parts of the film that aren't heartwarming and electrifying are the transitional scenes in cars, at airports, etc. They come across as contrived fillers. By sharp contrast, the most memorable moments are the close-up shots of Scott as he pulls every bit of emotion and meaning out of each musical phrase. The effort he puts into it makes his singing even more poignant. And there is a concluding scene near a Nevada lake, where Scott reflects on life and music as the embodiment of our collective hopes and dreams. When you eye the close-ups of his face, you know, that despite the pain he feels, he means it. Director Yoon Ha Chang deserves special praise for achieving great intimacy and continuity in the midst of what must have been a near-chaotic and at times disruptive set of film-making circumstances.

The 2016 Eden River Records recording that resulted from Kemper's production, and which consists of strictly musical tracks, was Scott's last, other than compilations of previous work. It's really a postscript to the film, because it contains the finished product of the events depicted there. Although, as in Billie Holiday's case as well (Lady in Satin, Columbia, 1958), the voice is a little weak, the expressiveness is nevertheless profound. For one example, the last track consists of a very unusual interpretation of "Poor Butterfly" that is virtually a spoken poem version with a hint of cabaret singing. It will tear you apart and put you back together again.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Atmosph��res
< Previous

Louis Smith: Here Comes Louis Smith ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.