Raymond Scott (1908-94) was a true eccentric, a musical innovator who followed his own unusual path. Born Harry Warnow, he worked as a pianist for the CBS Radio house band early in his career. Since his older brother Mark was the band’s conductor, he adopted the name of Raymond Scott to avoid it looking like nepotism, particularly when the orchestra played his unusual compositions.
In late 1936 he put together the Raymond Scott Quintette (which was actually a sextet), playing what Scott called “descriptive jazz.” His very complex and generally memorable arrangements (which often had two or three themes to each piece) certainly had descriptive song titles. The music somehow conjured up specific images during such songs as “Reckless Night On Board An Ocean Liner,” “War Dance For Wooden Indians,” “Celebration On The Planet Mars,” “New Year’s Eve In A Haunted House,” “Boy Scout In Switzerland,” “Bumpy Weather Over Newark,” “The Tobacco Auctioneer,” and even “Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals.” He had three hits during the 1937-39 period that were actually covered by some other bands: “Powerhouse,” “The Toy Trumpet,” and “Twilight In Turkey.”
Scott’s recordings of 1937-39, in addition to the music, had two unusual aspects. He persuaded his musicians to learn the complex arrangements by ear rather than having the music writte
