Dorothy Scott
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Beautiful & fierce, folk/rock with jazz and blues influences
Status:
Most recent release, Pass It On (2007)
See also:
Dorothy Scott's CD Baby page
Comparisons:
Mary Margaret O'Hara. They're from the same solar system, if not the same planet. (meth@smoe.org)According to Dorothy's bio, she is often compared to Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and Jeff Buckley. Her voice is something like Ane Brun's. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
Suffice it to say that seeing Dorothy Scott is about as close as many of us can get to seeing Mary Margaret O'Hara perform live. Sloan Wainwright once likened it to "getting (your) molecules rearranged." She is only just visiting this planet, and her performances are the kind of wonderfully disconnected experiences that need to be seen to be believed.
She is the premature reincarnation of Mary Margaret O'Hara, combined with the stage mannerisms of Kristin Hersh on serious amounts of speed. (Several years ago I got a postcard from her announcing some gigs that stated "now medicated for your listening comfort". :) She is an amazing guitar player, and writes lush, layered music overlaid with lyrics that don't really matter, because her voice is so cool. (meth@smoe.org)I highly recommend her and think most folks in ecto land would fall head over heels... She is very shy in person but she really belts it out in performance... (faucet@pipeline.com)
Comments about live performance:
I hadn't seen Dorothy Scott in over 4 years, and was amazed to find that she still hasn't recorded anything since Into The Natural, though she did say she hopes to have something out in the fall. It's going to kick. The material she played last night was much more driving and primal, though no less intense than her earlier work. She makes no attempt to hide that her single biggest influence is Mary Margaret O'Hara, and indeed seeing her live is very close to experiencing MMOH. Woj summed her up perfectly: "The Force is strong within her." She's a must-see for anyone in the NYC area, and I'm NOT going to allow 4 more years to pass before I see her play again! (6/99)
Dorothy took the stage alone with her acoustic guitar. A few songs later she asked if there was a Peter Kiesewalter in the audience, and there was, so he came up and played piano for the rest of the set. Unfortunately the sound guys had removed the mic from the piano in between sets, so it was hard to hear the piano underneath the wall of sound Dorothy got going once she switched to her electric guitar, but what I could hear was great. Then she invited Sloan to come back onto the stage to sing with her, and since Susan McKeown was in the audience she came up too. :) To finish up, Sloan and Susan and Peter stuck around to accompany Dorothy's "Down to the River", which is my favorite song of hers. This became the most transcendent musical moment of the year so far. (3/03)
Dorothy took the stage and did a couple solo songs, before she was accompanied by drummer Denise Jalbert and pianist Peter Kiesewalter for the rest of the set. Dorothy was very much herself: loopily falling apart in between songs, then gathering herself up once she was finally able to get the music started again and presenting her songs with their usual intensity. It was great to see her again. (6/04, meth@smoe.org)
Recommended first album:
Restless Machinery
Recordings:
- Into The Natural (ep, 1995)
- Restless Machinery (1999)
- Pass It On (2007)
Into The Natural
Release info:
1995—self-released
Availability:
See Dorothy Scott's site
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for folk fans
Group members:
Dorothy Scott—vocals, guitar
Guest artists:
Joe Mendelson—piano, keyboard
Mats Öberg—keyboard, symthsizer
Lyris Hung—violin
Fima Ephron—acoustic bass
Produced by:
Dorothy Scott and Joe Mendelson
Comments:
Dorothy Scott's EP (turned out to just have 6 songs on it) is, in my opinion, just about as intense and good as her live performance. I highly recommend it. Just for kicks and grins I put on Mary Margaret O'Hara's disc right after, and the influence is definitely there (interestingly enough, in the liner notes Dorothy Scott thanks her influences, and Mary Margaret is right at the top of the list!), though Scott is by no means an impostor. Another great musical discovery (thanks, Nick :). Everyone who is wailing and gnashing their teeth over Mary Margaret O'Hara's continued absence from the scene needs to check this woman out. (meth@smoe.org)
Restless Machinery
Release info:
1999—Pumpkin Records—711411121528
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Dorothy Scott
Guest artists:
Brian Blade—drums
Larry Grenadier—bass
Peter Kiesewalter—horns, accordion
Rebecca Martin—background vocals
Susan McKeown—background vocals
Timothy Hill—background vocals
Michael Visceglia
Gideon Freudmann
Jimmy Zhivago
Matt Johnson
Joe Mendelson
Chris Cunningham
Produced by:
Rebecca Martin and David Seitz
Comments:
Rebecca Martin did indeed produce Dorothy Scott's CD Restless Machinery. It's not jazzy and it's not folk, but I love what Dorothy does. She is an incredible guitar player, and an amazingly intense performer. (meth@smoe.org)This is one visceral album. I know of few studio recordings that capture the intensity that Restless Machinery does. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Pass It On
Release info:
2007—Out the Box Records—OTB 4000
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Dorothy Scott—vocal, background vocals, acoustic guitar, acoustic piano
Guest artists:
Peter Erskine—drums
Chris "Hambone" Cameron—piano, B-3, Rhodes
John Rice—bouzouki, acoustic guitar, dobro
Jim Tullio—fretless bass, atmospheric guitars, percussion, acoustic bass, acoustic guitar, hanger, background vocals
Hank Guagliaone—drums
Brian Blade—drums
Larry Grenadier—acoustic bass
Jimmy Zhivago—electric guitar
Peter Kiesewalter—soprano saxophone, clarinet
Travis T. Bernard—drums
Billy Ruppert—electric guitar
Corky Siege—harmonica
Stevie Robinson, Rene "Squeaky" Monihan—background vocals
Mats Oberg—harmonica, piano
John Williams—buton accordion
Larry Beers—drums
Elliott Delman—string arrangement
Peter LaBella—violin
Roberta Freier—violin
Frank Babbitt—viola
Larry Glazer—cello
Collins Trier—contrabass
Produced by:
Jim Tullio (1-5, 7-10), Rebecca Martin (3), Per Wikstrom (6)
Comments:
Pass It On is really different from Dorothy's last album, Restless Machinery. Same voice, same passion, but her intense guitar work is showcased far less; it doesn't have the rawness and intensity that I love about her last album. But that's not to say that Pass It On sounds lacking or missing anything; it's just different, and superb in its own right, with lovely arrangements that feature more piano and strings. It's less primal and more polished, but no less urgent. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
