NEW RELEASE – MILLY SCOTT
Revealing musical portrait of vaudeville-cum-jazz vocalist Milly Scott.
Personnel
Milly Scott (vocals); The Diamond Five feat. a.o. John Engels (drums), Combo Frans de Kok feat. a.o. Cees Smal (trumpet, flugelhorn, valve trombone), Orkest Ruud Bos feat. a.o. Herman Schoonderwalt (clarinet), Dutch Swing College Band feat. a.o. Peter Schilperoort (soprano saxophone, piano), Boy’s Big Band feat. a.o. Cees Slinger (piano), Metropole Orkest feat. a.o. Cees Verschoor (alto saxophone)
Recorded
between September 1963-July 1966 in Hilversum and The Hague
Released
as NJA 2501 in 2025
Track listing
It’s Allright With Me / Get Out Of Town / Old Devil Moon / September Song / I Got Rhythm / Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out / The Great City / Come Rain Or Come Shine / This Can’t Be Love / Taking A Chance On Love / Diep In Mijn Hart / How Deep Is The Ocean / After You’re Gone / Lonely House / Baby Won’t You Please Come Home / When Lights Are Low / Trouble In Mind / Get Out Of Town / You’re Driving Me Crazy / Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen / Careless Love Blues / Lover
In contrast to all reviews I’ve read, I’m not convinced by her blues singing, the so-called cherry on the jazz cake here. There’s no mistaking, however, that she was a fine interpreter of this jazz songbook, she really feels it. Hers is a straight honey pie voice that is allowed the occasional sassy pitch by Scott, who basks in the pleasure of unbeatable standards, backed by the cream of the Dutch jazz crop. What about It’s Allright With Me with the hard boppers of The Diamond Five? Hard-swinging, Scott thriving on the vibe. Equally swinging: Old Devil Moon with Combo Frans de Kok, Scott giving it her all.
And what about the slow version of Cole Porter’s Get Out Of Town with Boy Edgar’s Big Band? Amen! Her voice is super sensual here, perfectly in sync with the bittersweet message of ‘just disappear, I care for you much too much’. Pianist Cees Slinger responds fabulously with a melancholic, understated story.
Miss Scott worked for two years in Sweden in the early 1960s. Quincy Jones, on tour with his ill-fated Free & Easy band, invited Scott to come to New York. Scott declined. Scott: “A good thing that I didn’t do it. He was bankrupt the following year. Quincy gave me a photograph of himself on which he’d written, ‘Milly, you are a fool!'”
Understandable or not, she certainly was not a foolish singer and, at 92 years of age, enjoying a fitting tribute.