There was a time when you couldn’t get the record below with its super cool Mad Men sleeve. Some sort of complexity between the record labels for Jimmy Scott (the singer) and Ray Charles (who “musically supervised” the record for his label Tangerine).

Fortunately the dispute was resolved so nowadays we can readily hear one of the greatest of all jazz vocal albums.

And that means we can easily hear tunes like Why Try To Change Me Now below and marvel at Scott’s perfectly unique vocal stylings. 10 exquisitely formed jewels.
 

Throughout his career Scott was a bit of a secret and his popularity ebbed and flowed. A second flowering followed the inclusion of his track Sycamore Trees in the fashionable David Lynch TV show Twin Peaks (video source for all imagery on Lana Del Rey). It had a rumbling darkness that felt perfect for the then oh so tastemaker show. But I liked his take on Prince slightly more but it is only slightly
 

If you are browsing for something to buy I can think of less rewarding things to try. And as you listen wish him well wherever he passed to.

-TH