Kermit "Scotty" Scott (died February 2, 2002) was a jazz tenor saxophonist. Dizzy Gillespie considered Scott “one of the founders of our music” op Born in Beaumont, Texas, Scott's first professional work was with

Bunk Johnson Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson (December 27, 1879 – July 7, 1949) was an American prominent jazz trumpeter in New Orleans. Johnson gave the year of his birth as 1879, although there is speculation that he may have been younger by as much as a dec ...

's band before touring with other jazz bands and

minstrel shows The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...

, eventually arriving in New York in 1936. In 1940 he played in two different line-ups backing

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

at recording sessions in New York for Columbia. The first, on February 29, featured

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

on trumpet, Carl Frye and Jimmy Powell on alto saxophones, Scott on tenor saxophone, Sonny White on piano, Lawrence Lucie on guitar, John Williams on bass, and Hal West on drums. The second session, on June 7, had Eldridge again, with Bill Bowen and Joe Eldridge on alto saxophones, Scott and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most ...

on tenor saxophones,

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of many ...

on piano,

Freddie Green Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist who played rhythm guitar with the Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years. Early life and education Green was born in Charleston, South Car ...

on guitar, Walter Page on bass, and

J.C. Heard James Charles Heard (August 10, 1917 – September 27, 1988) was an American swing, bop, and blues drummer. Biography Heard was born in Dayton, Ohio and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. As a young child, he performed as a tap dancer in amate ...

on drums. He also played in

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

' orchestra in 1940. That same year, he joined

Teddy Hill Teddy Hill (December 7, 1909 in Birmingham, Alabama – May 19, 1978 in Cleveland, Ohio) was an American big band leader and the manager of Minton's Playhouse, a seminal jazz club in Harlem. He played a variety of instruments, including dru ...

's band, the first house band at

Minton's Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It is a registered trademark of Housing and Services, Inc. a New York City nonprofit provider ...

, with

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

and Joe Guy.Shipton, Alyn (1999) Groovin' High: The Life of Dizzy Gillespie: The Life of Dizzy Gillespie, p. 87. Oxford University Press
At Google Books. Retrieved 5 July 2013. In April 1944, he was in a band led by Jesse Miller performing at Joe's Deluxe Club, with Albert Atkinson (sax),

Ike Day Isaac Day Jr. (1925 – 1958), better known as Ike Day, was a Chicago-based hard bop and bebop jazz drummer. Life Referred to as “legendary” by many jazz musicians, including Andrew Hill, very little is known about Day except for a few spe ...

(drums), Argonne Thornton (piano), and Walter Buchanan (bass).Campbell, Robert L. and Robert Pruter, George R. White, Tom Kelly, George Paulus “The Aristocrat Label”
Retrieved 5 July 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Kermit Year of birth unknown 2002 deaths American jazz musicians American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American male jazz musicians