Yes, you know him, you love him - this guy, the leader of the CBS Orchestra and composer of Powerhouse, the one, the only Raymond Scott!
Posted a birthday tribute to Raymond Scott way back in 2010.
Missed his 100th birthday by two years!
Love him madly for such amazing and catchy compositions as the following, all brought to the masses courtesy of one Carl W. Stalling. Massive and unending kudos, bravos and huzzahs to Irwin Chusid for his fantastic work on these restorations.
In the 1940's, on the radio, Raymond Scott and crew performed unconventionally swinging big band tunes, some of which re-imagine and revamp his 1930's "Quintette" compositions.
They present Scott's unique spin on the big band sound.
"Junkman's Shuffle" is especially catchy.
Did not, unfortunately, find a recording to post with Raymond Scott leading the CBS Orchestra as the CBS Jump Band on the show Jump Time in August 1942. This was the first racially integrated studio orchestra for radio at CBS and featured jazz giants Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Shavers.
Today's post spotlights a few of the 20 stellar tracks that were uploaded to the Works For Orchestra 1934-1960 volume 9 YouTube playlist in January of this very year. The following has a wistful Ellington/Strayhorn vibe.
Here, none other than mid-1930's #1 box office star Shirley Temple sings The Toy Trumpet!
Raymond Scott turned his attentions to inventing and developing new electronic instruments.
The Ectoplasm album, recorded in 1948-1949, features the innovative electronic instruments and synths Scott had been building for years, paired with the vocals of Dorothy Collins. It is up on YouTube in its entirety.
The Manhattan Research album presents further electronic music featuring instruments designed by Raymond Scott and the voice work of Dorothy Collins (Mrs. Scott).
The 1957 album This Time With Strings is as cool, highly creative and astonishing as all his other recordings. The incomparable Ron Carter, still with us and performing in 2026, rocks the upright bass on this album - he played with Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy and Raymond Scott!
We extend extended, respectful and extraterrestrial hat tips to Raymond Scott, Dorothy Collins and all the super talented musicians who worked with Scott's various ensembles.
There have been many additions to his discography on Raymond Scott.net. These include:
- THREE WILLOW PARK: Electronic Music from Inner Space, 1961-1971
- The Raymond Scott Big Band - Hemidemisemiquaver CD
AND, by all means read Raymond Scott: The First 100 Years by Mark Frauenfelder
As well as Corey Goldberg's outstanding career overview of Raymond Scott.
And don't forget to read the Powerhouse 80th anniversary from Cartoon Brew.
With big time thanks to Raymond Scott.net, lots more Raymond Scott goodness is available via the Quintettes Or Less 1937-1950 volume 7 and Quintettes Or Less 1937-1950 volume 8 playlists.
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