Jimmy Scott

With his androgynous sound and uncommonly sensitive phrasing, Jimmy Scott was one of America’s most distinctive jazz vocalists. Born in Cleveland in 1925, Scott began his musical life in his local church choir. Due to an unusual genetic condition, his voice never deepened when he grew up, and he sang in a register usually occupied by female singers. Due to the same condition, he was under five feet tall until his thirties, leading to the nickname Little Jimmy Scott. Early on, he was beset by bad luck. He began working with Lionel Hampton in the ’40s and was featured on Hampton’s 1950 hit “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” but he was uncredited on the record. Around the same time, he sang with Charlie Parker, but the recordings wouldn’t be released for decades. His first solo album arrived in 1955, but a number of his early sessions were either shelved or buried due to contractual issues. By the ’70s Scott had quit singing; however, a rediscovery via his performance at songwriter Doc Pomus’ 1991 funeral led to a renewed, vastly more successful career. His voice graced TV’s Twin Peaks, Lou Reed’s Magic and Loss, and Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration. Belatedly but unreservedly given his due, Scott passed in 2014 at age 88.