RIP: Tony Scott

The clarinetist Tony Scott died on March 28th in Rome, Italy, at the age of 86. He had started playing the clarinet at the age of 12 and with 14 had founded his first quartet. While studying music he participated in jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in the early 40s and soon was one of the few clarinetists actively participating in the bebop movement. Scott had his own sound which was neither classical oriented nor reflected the New Orleans clarinet tradition but, if anything, was influenced by the sound ideal of the tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. With Webster he had played in 1943; later he worked with musicians such as Buddy Rich, Tommy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill, but also with Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday for whom he worte arrangements as well. In the early 60s he travelled through Asia and became interested in Indonesian and Indian music. In the late 60s he settled in Rome where he performed from time to time, recorded some albums and now died. Obituary: Musical News .