SHIRLEY SCOTT
Soul Sister (Prestige)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Shirley Scott's best-known sessions in the sixties matched her Hammond with tenor saxophones, usually blown by either Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis or her then-husband Stanley Turrentine, but there's not a sax to be found on these cuts, which document a pair of albums recorded for Prestige. 1060's Soul Sister matched her with Lem Winchester on vibes in front of bassist George Duvivier and drummer Arthur Edgehill. The 1964 release Travelin' Light put her beside guitarist Kenny Burrell, with Eddie Kahn on bass and Otis Finch on the drum throne. One stray track, "Now's The Time," was recorded at the Soul Sister session and provided the title cut for a later release.

You won't miss the sound of the sax. If anything, the softer sound of her sidemen on these sessions only provide more room for Scott to shine, and she shines like a well-cut gem throughout. Scott was a pianist before turning to the organ, and she has a lighter touch than many other B-3 specialists. That touch makes her as comfortable in a bop mode as with the blues or funk styles more common to sixties soul-jazz combos. She also displays a sensitivity to some of the pop standards that were typical of such sessions that allows the songs themselves to stand without the excessive rhythmic augmentation that was also typical--too much so.

Scott would eventually take some time away from the scene, although she surfaced in some unlikely spots--behind Rhassan Roland Kirk, for instance--before reappearing once again as a pianist. For a time, though, she was indeed *the* soul sister, the queen of the Hammond B-3. This set is a fine document of that time.

Track List:

Trav'lin' Light * Solar * Nice 'N' Easy * They Call It Stormy Monday * Baby It's Cold Outside * The Kerry Dance * On Green Dolphin Street * Blues For Tyrone * Sonnymoon For Two * Like Young * The More I See You * Get Me To The Church On Time * Now's The Time

© 2000 - Shaun Dale