Noel Scott: Reviews

NOEL SCOTT/DON WARNER ENSEMBLE
Mosaic
This CD is solid great musicians, fabulous music. It's a bittersweet recording, as the original bassist lost his life in an act of violence during the recording of the CD Steve Peters was murdered by two robbers, but the musicians put together a recording dedicated to him. You can't go wrong with Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Antonio Carlos Jobim and these guys really make the music come alive. "One Note Samba" really cooks great vibe work, and Noel Scott offers some outstanding sax work. Don Warner is one of the Kansas City Jazz legends and proves it with his keyboard work and guitar. Five stars buy this CD!

Review of "MOSAIC"

This is elegantly varied, ingeniously arranged jazz-pop from many eras - a mosaic designed to stir memories. There's a wide range of offerings: jazz and Broadway showbiz standards, pop classics, and even an original overture featuring strings and a bit of vocalese, with snatches of themes to hint at what's to come. The varied instrumentation is refreshingly lyrical, and the performances decorously swing. Thus these tunes and these ways of playing them stir nostalgia for those of us (most probably over 40) who aren't yet ready to let go of the 20th century. Played straight through, "Mosaic" provides a smooth hour of fine-dining music (some of these musicians appear currently at an upscale KC restaurant). Or, on the car stereo, the one-hour set can calm your drive times.

"Mosaic"is dedicated to the memory of Steve Peters - a talented, much admired, much missed Kansas City classical and jazz bassist. ... His untimely death came while this recording was being made. ...

Review of "Energized!"

Noted local jazz performers, Scott (sax) and Warner (piano) are joined by a stellar list of guests in this mixture of standards and original arrangements.

Scott’s layered sax work is at its best on “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and “Harlem Nocturne”. Strong vocals from Garrett Gardner on “…Skin” and Char on “Green Dolphin Street” and “Bewitched” highlight the set.

And the vibes of Greg Richter are top-notch.

Tight, at times daring and a good mixture of styles.

Review of "ENERGIZED!"

..."Energized!" is far closer to mainstream lounge jazz than the genre's experimental vein. Imagine a solitary figure - collar upturned, walking on a deserted street in the early-morning hours - and you have the feel of "Comin' Home Baby", the opening cut. Picture a wisp of steam rising from a manhole or an empty bus making its last run of the night, and you have the essence of Scott and Warner's "Take Five", the Dave Brubeck classic, or "Harlem Nocturne", the venerable TV theme for "Mike Hammer", private eye. ...

...In "Take Five", for example, Scott recorded separate tracks on tenor, alto, and soprano sax. In mixing the tracks, ...Scott added special effects to create what he describes as "a very distant and faraway sound". Buried in that mood, he inserted what jazz musicians call a "quotation" - a reproduction of a jazz lick or phrase made famous by another musician. So although a person who knows little about jazz can enjoy "Take Five" or "Harlem Nocturne", a jazz musician can listen and hear Scott acknowledge Parker or other jazz greats.