About
David Thorne Scott is a singer, songwriter, composer, and writer. His current project is "Animal Spirits," a new musical about economist John Maynard Keynes. It examines the role of love, art, and sexuality in a world of war, ideological polarization and economic inequality. Scott wrote the book, music and lyrics.
David has long been known for bringing a modern edge to the classics of the Great American Songbook. His album "Shade" was named a "Top 5 CD of the Year" by the Jazz Education Journal. Cadence Magazine said "he phrases like a saxophone player and is as slippery and hip as the young Mel Tormé." Herb Wong, one of the west coast's leading jazz experts, wrote “I haven’t been this moved by a performance of ‘For All We Know’ since Carmen McRae.”
David's recent release is called "Thornewood", an album that explores the sweet spot between Jazz and Americana: Cole Porter and Harold Arlen placed next to John Denver and Townes Van Zandt. Special guests on the album include Paula Cole, Peter Eldridge, Jason Palmer, Walter Smith III, and Sara Caswell.
David's pop/jazz crossover album "Hopeful Romantic” consists of smoky jazz, powerful rock anthems, bouncy pop and moody hip-hop musings. Gold- and Platinum-award winner Anthony Resta produced the CD.
His composition “I See You” was featured in the television show The Blacklist on NBC. David has been a featured soloist with the Boston Pops, the Capital Jazz Orchestra, the New England Wind Symphony, the Melrose Symphony, the Cape Symphony, and the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra.
David is Professor of Voice at Berklee College of Music.
Other Projects
David is host of “Songwriters in the Round”, a twice-monthly series at the Center for Arts at the Armory in Somerville, Mass.
David is the founder of the Vintage Vocal Quartet, comprised of double-threat singer/instrumentalists who vocalize and harmonize while keeping a steady beat on bass, guitar, piano and trumpet. The group's repertoire is inspired by groups like Glenn Miller’s Modernaires, the Nat King Cole Trio, the Andrews Sisters, and Tommy Dorsey’s Pied Pipers.
OnWeGo is a collaboration between David Thorne Scott (voice/bass), Mark Shilansky (piano/voice), Sara Caswell (violin), and Eric Byers (guitar/voice) embracing jazz, popular, and world music, with an emphasis on vocal harmony and collective improvisation. Original songs are heard side by side with carefully chosen covers, in arrangements that feature the group members’ virtuoso playing and telepathic interplay.
As a member of the vocal quartet Syncopation, called "a 21st-century Manhattan Transfer or Lambert, Hendricks and Ross‚" by the Boston Globe, he sang and played trumpet. The legendary vocal group the Four Freshmen has only had four different lead singers since its inception in 1947 and David is the only substitute ever to tour with them, singing the high lead part and playing bass. David was a founding member of the vocal quintet Vocalogy.
Press and Reviews
“At a time of great conflict in our country – when words often fail us – music has the power to bridge divides. With his latest album Thornewood, released earlier this month, David Thorne Scott explores the intersection of Jazz and Americana, city and country, instrumentation and lyrics to create lush compositions and covers that are unifying, and healing, in their beauty.” - Laurie Fanelli
“[Thornewood] reflects David’s embrace of the power of song to unite people. As Pete Seeger said, “All songwriters are links in a chain.” His music and new album exemplify this connection, as he fearlessly merges legendary songwriters of different genres and generations. He invites Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, Townes Van Zandt and John Denver all to the same party, and it’s a great one. ” - Paul Zollo
“Vocalist David Thorne Scott blends jazz and Americana on his forthcoming album, Thornewood... motivated by a desire to pacify the Red State Vs. Blue State thinking of the United States. “I want jazz fans to love the mournful hollow tone of wide-open spaces,” says Scott. “And I want fans of Americana music to love the electric crackle of city nights.”” - Matt Micucci
— Jazziz
“Scott’s incredibly flexible, wide-ranging voice is, of course, at the center of “Thornewood,” which runs, stylistically, from a cool, jazzy, spare cover of John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” to a ballad-like version – with a country element – of Townes Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You” – done up as a duet with Paula Cole. Also on the program is the swinging original “The Dark Side,” which bursts into a scatting session, and Scott’s tender “Grow,” a deeply emotional song he wrote just after the birth of his first child.” - Ed Symkus
“Stories abound on his new album, Thornewood... material “from the Great American Songbook, plainspoken Texas songwriters and slick film composers,” as well as some of his originals, which are “inspired musically by hard bop, lyrically by the Great Plains.”” - Chris M. Junior
“On his terrific recently released album Thornewood, Boston’s own David Thorne Scott lets loose his gorgeous tenor voice on an eclectic lineup of Americana and jazz tunes by the likes of Townes Van Zandt, John Denver, Cole Porter, and Harold Arlen, along with a group of beautifully crafted originals.” - Evelyn Rosenthal
“Our artist of the month, David Thorne Scott, is a singer and songwriter who explores the intersection of Jazz and Americana music.” - Charan Devereaux
