Jim Scott

Jim Scott is a finger-style guitarist, singer/songwriter and composer in the genres of jazz, classical and folk music. From Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival (with the Paul Winter Consort) to a concert at the end of The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament with folk legends Pete Seeger and Peter Yarrow, Scott has performed in 49 U.S. states (not Alaska yet), England, Scotland, Italy, France, Greece, Australia, Nicaragua, Mexico and Canada. His world tours have included a European tour with The Griffith Singers performing his choral music (in 1997), recording in the gardens of Findhorn, Scotland with jazz flautist Paul Horn, touring Nicaragua with Holly Near (in 1984), and performing in Australia for colleges and the Institute for Earth Education International Conference (in 1990). Scott has also shared the stage with such notable fellow musicians as John Denver, Tracy Chapman, Joan Baez, 10,000 Maniacs, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Dan Fogelberg, Odetta, Steve Gadd, Tony Levin, Nelson Rangell, Ed Tossing, and Tom Chapin.

Education

Scott attended the Eastman School of Music from 1963 through 1968, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Music. He was a graduate assistant at the University of Maryland in 1971-1972 (also playing guitar and arranging for the U. S. Army band "The Jazz Ambassadors"), while studying classical guitar from 1969-1972 with John Marlow at the American University in Washington, DC, and with Aaron Shearer at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, MD (1974-1975). He was an Artist in Residence in 1987 at Denison University in Granville, OH, and over the next six years taught musical improvisation and guitar courses at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH.

Paul Winter Consort

In his years as guitarist for the Paul Winter Consort (1977-1984), Scott led thousands in the song "Common Ground" and his own eco-anthem, "A Song For The Earth". He was co-composer of the Consort's monumental choral work, "Missa Gaia/Earth Mass", and recorded "A Concert for the Earth" in the Great Hall of the United Nations. While a member of the Consort, Jim also wrote several PBS soundtracks and composed and arranged a concert they performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. From 1981 through 1983, Scott formed the instrumental group Radiance with fellow Paul Winter Consort veterans oboist Nancy Rumble and cellists David Darling and Eugene Freisen, and recorded three albums with them.

Other professional experience

From 1971 to 1976, Scott was a freelance musician in Washington, DC and New York City doing studio work, some classical performance, and pit orchestra work for musicals, and worked with Helen Reddy, the Dorsey Brothers Band, the Four Lads and others. In 1976 he composed the orchestral soundtrack for The Arts in America USIA multi-media show for the World Trade Fair, and from 1980 through 1982 he composed soundtracks for Mc Dowel’s Ride (a PBS feature film), NOVA programs, and other PBS projects at WGBH Boston. An avid peace organizer during the late 1980s, he performed for The Great Peace March, The Florida Peace Pilgrimage, and The Soviet-American Peace Walk (also organizing their combined choir), and was arrested at the Nuclear Test Site in Nevada. He performed at the Starwood Festival in 1995, and the WinterStar Symposium in 1996.

Unitarian Universalists

Jim has long been active in the Unitarian Universalist Church, and has visited over 300 UU churches across the country leading services, presenting concerts, and offering workshops. Three of Jim's songs are included in the new Unitarian Universalist Hymnbook, and "Gather The Spirit", has become a favorite across the denomination. Jim has served on the board of the UU Musicians Network, and was Co-Chair of the ecological/spiritual activist group the UU Seventh Principle Project. Through a grant from the Unitarian Universalist Association, Scott has compiled, edited and arranged an anthology of songs of ecology and peace, "The Earth and Spirit Songbook".

Discography

* 1977 - "Common Ground" - Paul Winter Consort. A&M Records
* 1980 - "Callings" - Paul Winter Consort. Living Music
* 1981 - "Jim Scott Alone" - Jim Scott
* 1982 - "A Song for the Earth" - Radiance
* 1982 - "Lake Unto The Clouds" - Radiance
* 1983 - "Inverness" - Radiance
* 1981 - "Missa Gaia/Earth Mass" - Paul Winter Consort. Living Music
* 1984 - "A Concert for the Earth" (Live at the U N) - Paul Winter Consort and the Back Bay Chorale of Boston. Living Music
* 1985 - "The First Winds of Autumn" - Jim Scott
* 1986 - "Big and Little Stuff: Songs for Kids" - Jim Scott
* 1989 - "The Tree and Me" - Jim Scott
* 1989 - "Wolf Eyes" - Paul Winter Consort. Living Music
* 1995 - "Earth Sky Love and Dreams" - Jim Scott
* 1996 - "For A Time" - Jim Scott
* 1997 - "Sailing With the Moon" - Jim Scott
* 1999 - "Body and Soul" (Soundtrack - documentary series on PBS Television)
* 2001 - "Instruments of Peace" - Radiance

Video

* 2000 - "Big and Little Stuff: Songs for Kids" (released by Sidewalk Songs)

Written works

* 1994 - "The Jim Scott Song Notebook Vol. 1" - (songs with piano accompaniment)
* 1994 - Three pieces included in the new Unitarian Universalist Hymnbook
* 1996 - "Jim Scott Choral Collection" (book of 20 SATB choral pieces)
* 1998 - "The Jim Scott Song Notebook Vol. 2" - (songs with piano accompaniment)
* 1998 - "Just the Words" (book of poetry, song lyrics and short stories)
* 2000 - "All Scales in All Positions for Guitar" (published by Hal Leonard)
* 2000 - "The Rainforest Song" (Choral piece published by Henry Leck Choral Series)
* 2003 - Three Choral pieces published by The Roger Wagner Choral Series
* 2003 - Choral pieces selected for publication by Boosey and Hawkes
* 2003 - "The Earth and Spirit Songbook: Book One"
* 2004 - "The Earth and Spirit Songbook: Book Two"
* 2004 - "Missa Gaia / Earth Mass"
* 2004 - "Vessels of the Sun: A Choral Work"
* 2005 - "Hymns to Jazz"
* 2005 - "The Tree and Me" (Stage Script & Cassette)

External links

* http://jimscottmusic.com