Photo: Professor Bop / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Jimmy Scott is the kind of artist I find genuinely moving. That high, natural contralto voice was so unusual that it left people unsure what they were hearing, and his phrasing on ballads could stop a room cold. What stays with me is the shape of his career: real success in the 1940s and 50s, then a long slide into obscurity through the 60s, before a comeback in the 1990s that finally brought the NEA Jazz Masters recognition in 2007. Vindication that late in life is bittersweet. He died in 2014 at 88, and I think his patience and refusal to disappear are as remarkable as the voice itself.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jimmy Scott
- Name (Japanese)
- ジミー・スコット
- Reading
- じみー・すこっと
- Born
- July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Ox
- Origin
- Cleveland, Ohio, United States
- Occupation
- singer / jazz musician / musician
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 2007 NEA Jazz Masters
- NEA Jazz Masters
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Jimmy Scott born?
July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014.
Where is Jimmy Scott from?
Jimmy Scott is from Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
What does Jimmy Scott do?
Jimmy Scott works as singer, jazz musician, musician.
Singer — see all → · Jazz musician — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.