This remarkable album from Scottish drummer Stu Brown and his band celebrates the life and work of a man whose name will be unfamiliar to many, but many more will have heard his music. Raymond Scott (1908-1994) wrote much of the music to be heard in the Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons-Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck etc. etc.

Amazingly the music wasn’t written specifically for this purpose. Scott’s Quintette (actually a six piece) recorded their off the wall “descriptive jazz” between 1937 and 1939 but it was only in 1943 that Warner Bros. bought Scott’s publishing rights and began to use his music in their animated cartoons.

Brown has long been fascinated by Scott’s work and assembled this sextet in 2008 to celebrate the centenary of Scott’s birth. The group includes some of the leading players on the vibrant Scottish jazz scene and besides Brown comprises of Tom MacNiven (trumpet), Brian Molley (saxophones), Martin Kershaw (clarinet), Tom Gibbs (piano) and Roy Percy (double bass). In the Scott spirit Brown and Molley are also heard on a variety of squeaky toys and Kershaw is heard on the mediaeval crumhorn. The music was recorded using methods allied as closely as possible to the recording technology of the 1930’s with a single stereo ribbon microphone placed in the centre of the room. The bulk of the nineteen pieces are from the Quintette era and whilst Brown has allowed limited scope for improvisation most of the arrangements are closely based on the Scott originals.

Scott was something of a musical inventor and an early pioneer of electronic and ambient music. He created his own instruments including the “Karloff” sound effects generator (1948), the Clavivox (1952) and the Videola (1959).  In 1960 he developed the first electronic sequencer, the legacy of which can be heard widely in contemporary music and in the seventies he worked as head of electronic research and development for Tamla Motown and his “Electronium”, a development of his work with sequencers featured on a number of Motown recordings. He was also in demand as a film composer scoring several movies including Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Trouble With Harry.” Scott continued to compose, invent and experiment until 1987 when he became disabled following a series of strokes. Brown’s comprehensive liner notes, including a Scott “timeline” offer greater insight into the life of this remarkable man and are an essential companion to the music.

Brown and his colleagues bring Scott’s music back to life in invigorating fashion. In the spirit of the age in which they were conceived nothing lasts longer than four and a half minutes and most of the pieces are around the two to three minute mark. Many of them sound instantly familiar, we all watched and loved those cartoons in our childhood and Scott’s wacky musical accompaniment lies buried in our collective psyche. The music hardly needs description, I’m sure most readers can hear this stuff in their mind’s ear. 

The titles are often highly descriptive of the music contained therein. The sextet kick off with the manic “Dance For Eight Egyptian Mummies” and it’s companion piece “Devil Drums”.“The Penguin” is appropriately quirky and jerky and “New Years Eve In A Haunted House” with Kershaw’s clarinet prominent, the most off the wall item yet with it’s squeaky toys and midnight chimes. Apparently Scott’s wacky brand of jazz was popular with 1930’s adult audiences before the Warner’s buyout led to it forever associated with childhood.

“The Toy Trumpet” adds elements of New Orleans jazz to Scott’s screwball ideas and the piece must be great fun for MacNiven to play. Likewise it’s companion “A Boy Scout In Switzerland”.

“Suicide Cliff” is surprisingly sombre and “In An 18th Century Drawing Room” appropriately but exaggeratedly courtly. These two items represent something of a musical pause for breath but the following “Moment Musical” and “Powerhouse”, complete with it’s “horses hooves” rhythms quickly restore the energy and wackiness levels.

Brown and his colleagues have taken some of Scott’s unfinished ideas and added their own arrangements. Pianist Gibbs has updated “Egyptian Barn Dance” for solo piano and Brown has adapted “Hypnotist In Hawaii”  for double bass and horns. Brown’s quirky arrangement is very much in the Scott spirit.“Arabian House Party” is Brown’s interpretation of a Scott big band chart dating from 1940. 

“Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals”,“Tobacco Auctioneer”, “Twilight In Turkey” and “War Dance For Wooden Indians” all date from the Quintette era and have suitably descriptive titles. Brown’s drums are at the centre of the surging “Cannibals” with MacNiven’s mercurial “wah wah” trumpet dominating on “Auctioneer” . “Twilight In Turkey"is one of the most familiar sounding pieces and “War Dance” is totally off the wall.

The album closes with two later Scott pieces. “The Bass Line Generator” refers to a 1960’s Scott invention that generated musical patterns from a ten note tone row. Here it is performed by Brian Molley overdubbing himself on the full range of saxophones (from baritone to soprano) plus clarinet. Although substantially different to the rest of the album it still has that trademark Scott quirkiness.

Finally comes “Toy Typewriter”  from Scott’s ambient album “Soothing Sounds For Baby Vol.2” which literally consists of Brown hammering out rhythms on a typewriter with some judicious electronic embellishment. As Brown puts it “this is how the track might have sounded if Scott had met Squarepusher in a 1960’s time travel accident.” 

“Twisted Toons” is a loving tribute to an influential but now sadly rather neglected figure. The playing by Brown and his sextet is superb and razor sharp, with the horns of MacNiven, Kershaw and Molley particularly impressive. Brown too is excellent throughout adding great colour to the music with his imaginative percussion work.

At times the relentless whimsicality can get a little irksome but there’s no doubting the warmth and skill that has gone into this recording. In some ways Scott’s music is remarkably contemporary throwing in early world music references and his influence can be heard in the mischievous music of Carla Bley,Django Bates, Steve Arguelles and others. In other ways it’s surprising how far back he goes with his New Orleans sources, particularly obvious in the trumpet arrangements.

Brown has been touring this music and in a live situation it must be great fun. You’d have to be in the right frame of mind to listen to it at home but it does bring back some enjoyable childhood memories as well as being an interesting listen in it’s own right.

Further information, including live dates is available at http://www.raymondscottproject.com

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