New York, NY (Top40 Charts) With Joe Pesci,
Dee Dee Bridgewater,
James Moody, Kenny Barron,
Peter Erskine, Arturo Sandoval, Joey DeFrancesco,
Monica Mancini, Till Brönner, Oscar Castro-Neves, Bob Mintzer, John Pisano, Renee Olstead,
Gregoire Maret, HBR Studio Symphony Orchestra
I Go Back Home is the heroic creation of German producer Ralf Kemper, a love letter to a pioneering vocalist, Jimmy Scott, cursed with puberty-stunting Kallman's Syndrome which ironically gifted him his incomparable style and sound.
An oppressive re cording contract hounded Jimmy Scott through most of his recording career and prevented him from releasing albums (including the only album
Ray Charles ever produced). It wasn't until 1992 that Jimmy, aged 63, recorded All The Way, the first album with which he had creative control. Fittingly, the album was nominated for a Grammy and brought him to a new audience including director
David Lynch who cast him in his television series Twin Peaks. Scott began touring and regularly releasing albums.
I Go Back Home was recorded in 2014. It is a record of reconciliation and collaboration, the sound of a singer going out on top. With production from Phil Ramone, Kemper and Scott showcase the work of exceptional collaborators, several of whom passed since contributing to the album, among them, bossa nova icon Oscar Castro-Neves and legendary saxophonist
James Moody, long-time associate of
Dizzy Gillespie.
Additional guests include Academy Award-winning actor Joe Pesci, who turns in a divine duet on The Nearness of You and The Folks Who Live on the Hill; drummer
Peter Erskine, pianist Kenny Barron, organist Joey DeFrancesco, and
Dee Dee Bridgewater, who joins Scott on For Once in My Life.
Everybodyʼs Somebodyʼs Fool has special meaning for Scott. It was his only charting song, a modest hit with Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra. Here, 50 years later, Scott revisits it with accompanist
James Moody, who appeared on the original.
As Jimmy explained: "The lyric is so important to me. I feel if you're singing a song or telling the story in a song it should mean something. That's why I protect what I have in it, because that's where I believe it should go. It should mean something. It should make sense."
Dave Nathan wrote on AllMusic that Scott's phrasing moves "beyond mere poignancy and close to reverence". This is truer than ever on I Go Back Home. Scott shifts from speak-singing in album-opener (Sometimes I Feel Like a) Motherless Child to a lively bossa nova take on I Remember You to the full-throated commitment on If I Ever Lost You. And while we can mourn the decades he didn't record, the tragedies and injustices that never defeated him, I Go Back Home succeeds in capturing the essence of a life that was ultimately triumphant.
TRACKS
1. Motherless Child (5:23) - Featuring Joey De Francesco
2. The Nearness Of You (6:38) - Duet with Joe Pesci
3. Love Letters (4:08)
4. Easy Living (4:17) - Duet with Oscar Castro-Neves
5. Someone To Watch Over Me (4:15) - Featuring Renee Olstead
6. How Deep is the Ocean (5:10) - Featuring Denny Barron
7. If I Ever Lost You (5:46) - Featuring Till Brönner
8. For Once In My Life (5:07) - Duet with
Dee Dee Bridgewater
9. I Remember You (4:26) - Featuring
Monica Mancini & Arturo Sandoval
10. Everybody is Somebody's Fool (3:55) - Featuring
James Moody
11. Folks Who Live On The Hill (4:57) - Featuring Joe Pesci
12. Poor Butterfly (4:56) - Featuring
Gregoire Maret
The album's inspiring creation is told in an accompanying award-winning documentary film. Visit the website and watch the official trailer here: www.igobackhome.com
JIMMY SCOTT DOCUMENTARY
I GO BACK HOME - A STORY ABOUT HOPING AND DREAMING
World Premiere at SXSW Film Festival 2016
Introduced by
Quincy Jones at the 50th Montreux Jazz Festival 2016
Winner at Harlem International Film Festival 2016 for "Best Documentary"
Winner at Festival International de Film de Bruxelles 2016 for "Best Documentary"
Winner at 13th
Soundtrack Cologne 2016 for "Best Documentary"
MORE SCREENING DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED.
CD (WITH GENEROUSLY-SIZED BOOKLET), DOUBLE-VINYL (2 X 180 GMS) AND MULTIPLE DIGITAL FORMATS AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE ON JANUARY 27, 2017 AND THROUGH WWW.EDEN-RIVER-RECORDS.COM
