Tony Scott is another unknown jazz great. Born Anthony Joseph Sciacca in Morristown, New Jersey, the clarinetist played swing with legends such as Ben Webster and Benny Carter in the 1940s, could be heard on his first recordings with Sarah Vaughan and Dizzy Gillespie, led Billy Holiday’s backing band in the 1950s, played with Miles Davis and Bill Evans, began travelling and meditating in the 1960s, discovered yoga and became one of the fathers of what we now call world music. In the 1970s he settled in Italy, where in 1973 he recorded »Manteca«, the album that will be reissued for the first time on 21 March 2025 on Free Flow Archive (an Italian label, the circle is complete). A gold vinyl edition limited to 100 copies will be available exclusively from HHV Records.
Receptive for new sounds
Together with Sture Nordin (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums) and Sabu Martine (percussion), Tony Scott, who can play all saxophones, flute, piano and guitar in addition to the clarinet, shows on »Manteca« his entire repertoire, from bebop to free jazz, emotional and spiritual, lively and cosmopolitan. »I believe in being receptive to all music«, he once said. It’s time to rediscover Tony Scott.
