James Scott (composer)

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James Scott

James Sylvester Scott (born February 12, 1886 in Neosho , Missouri , † August 30, 1938 in Kansas City , Missouri) was an American ragtime pianist and composer.

Live and act

After the Scott family moved to Carthage , Missouri, in 1901 , James began working in a music store. Soon after, shopkeeper Charles L. Dumars recognized his talent and Scott began performing pianos. Since he also played his own compositions, the resulting demand prompted Dumar to publish Scott's first works in print. In 1906 Scott moved to St. Louis , where he met Scott Joplin , who referred him to John Stark, his own editor, and James Scott had great success with his first rag, the "Frog Legs Rag". In 1914 he moved to Kansas City. He married, continued to compose successful rags, worked as a piano teacher and directed a cinema orchestra.

The emergence of the sound film and the displacement of ragtime by the increasingly popular jazz ended his successful career in the early 1920s. The death of his wife during this period may also have contributed to this. Its last publication dates from 1922.

Along with Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb, James Scott is one of the "Big Three", the most important representatives of the classic, fully composed ragtime. His works are pianistically demanding throughout and are also musically on a par with the Rags Joplins.

In the last few years of his life, Scott was engaged in teaching and composing. He led an eight-member band that played for various beer gardens and cinemas in the area. With the invention of the sound film , however, his income declined. He lost his theater job. In addition, his wife died childless and his health deteriorated. He moved to Kansas City, Kansas with his cousin Ruth Callahan , and although he suffered from chronic dropsy he continued to compose and make music. Scott died on August 30, 1938 at the age of 52 in Douglas Hospital and was buried next to his wife in Westlawn Cemetery .

Works (selection)

  • Frog Legs Rag (1906)
  • Grace and Beauty (1909)
  • Hilarity Rag (1910)
  • Ragtime Oriole (1911)
  • Climax Rag (1914)
  • Evergreen Rag (1915)
  • Honey Moon Rag (1916)
  • Prosperity Rag (1916)
  • Victory Rag (1921)

literature

  • Scott DeVeaux , William Howard Kenney (Eds.): The music of James Scott , Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1992.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jasen, David A .: Ragtime: an encyclopedia, discography, and sheetography . Routledge, New York 2007, ISBN 0-415-97862-9 .
  2. ↑ Blesh . 1950, p. 119 .
personal data
SURNAME Scott, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Scott, James Sylvester (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ragtime pianist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH February 12, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Neosho , Missouri
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 1938
Place of death Kansas City (Missouri)