Kenneth Kamal Scott (3 March 1940 – 1 February 2015) was an American singer, dancer and actor, whose sixty-five-year career had included numerous achievements in a diverse array of genres and settings, including Broadway, jazz, pop, opera, ballet and modern dance. Scott began his performance career as a singer at age seven, and by the age of eleven began performing at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

as the featured vocalist for musicians such as

Earl "Fatha" Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, "o ...

. Other notable accomplishments include dancing as a member of the

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cente ...

company in 1959, rising to the starring role of The Wiz in the Broadway company from 1975 to 1979, scoring a hit with the song ''Bolinas'' as featured vocalist with Billy Cobham in 1978, and appearances with the Boston Pops under

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

. In his later career, Scott began exploring and teaching the art of

Bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

singing, including a recital at Merkin Hall at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

in October 2004. Scott was on faculty as a vocal instructor at the Mannes College of Music and the

New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music School of Jazz and Contemporary Music is the second conservatory of The New School. It is located on West 13th Street in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. It was known as The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music before it wa ...

, also Morgan State University as Artist in Residence since August 28, 2012. He became a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity, Pi Eta chapter, on April 6, 2013. Scott was diagnosed with liver cancer in July 2014 and died on February 1, 2015.

Family

Scott comes from a musical family. His uncle,

Irving Ashby Irving Conrad Ashby (December 29, 1920 – April 22, 1987) was an African-American jazz guitarist. Ashby was born in Somerville, Massachusetts and started playing guitar when he was nine. His career started in 1940 when he became a member of L ...

, was a jazz guitarist who performed with the Nat King Cole Trio. His mother, Phyllis Ashby, performed as a big band vocalist, and his father, Leslie Scott, was a successful baritone who played Porgy in the national and international production of ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

'' in 1953 and later played Jake in the 1959 film version. Scott has two sons by his first wife, Myrna White: Kenneth and Jonathan, who was a noted hip-hop artist under the name Dred Scott, and who was married to jazz singer

Adriana Evans Adriana Evans, (also known as Adriana Madera; born 1974) is an American R&B soul singer-songwriter. She was born in San Francisco, the daughter of jazz singer Mary Stallings. Her debut album, entitled '' Adriana Evans'', was released in 1997 an ...

Broadway and theater credits

Scott had performed in numerous Broadway shows including '' The Wiz'', ''

Her First Roman ''Her First Roman'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Ervin Drake, based on the 1898 George Bernard Shaw play '' Caesar and Cleopatra''. Original production During its out-of-town tryout, the original director Michael Benthall was fire ...

'', ''I'm Solomon'', '' Hallelujah, Baby!'', '' Hello, Dolly!'' and '' Golden Boy''. Of his lead role in ''The Wiz'', the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Kamal shines. Kamal is a phenomenon...He could star in anything." Scott portrayed Joseph in the debut of the play ''

Black Nativity ''Black Nativity '' is an adaptation of the Nativity story by Langston Hughes, performed by an entirely black cast. Hughes was the author of the book, with the lyrics and music being derived from traditional Christmas carols, sung in gospel sty ...

'' at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City in 1961 and later performed as the Griot in the Penumbra Theatre Company production of the same play in St. Paul Minnesota in 1999."New Cast of 'Black Nativity' Strong Voiced, With Standouts," Saint Paul Pioneer Press, 12/16/1999

References

External links

Scott's web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Kenneth Kamal 1940 births 2015 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers American male stage actors Male actors from Boston Musicians from Boston 21st-century African-American people