Ectoplasm

ECTOPLASM is the first new collection of unreleased Raymond Scott recordings in five years, and the first-ever of Scott's second Quintet, which recorded in 1948-49. Like its legendary 1937-39 predecessor (chronicled on 2003's Microphone Music), this "quintet" had six members, but unlike the original RSQ, this band didn't create music associated with Warner Bros. cartoons.

The 1948-49 band sounds like quintessential Raymond Scott without a nostalgic aping of the first RSQ. Scott trademarks abound: wit, sophistication, and a touch of eccentricity. Like the first, the second RSQ is complex and hyperactive, with an undercurrent of wry mischief. Both RSQ's were known for swirling horns, muted trumpet, and daredevil tempos. The style could be termed "parlor jazz," or "chamber swing"--breezy and cerebral.

As a composer, Scott progressed beyond his quirky novelties of the late 1930s, while still painting "portraits in music." The album title refers to a spooky Scott work evoking a "voice from the beyond." Other Scott originals on Ectoplasm are "Street Corner in Paris," "Snake Woman," "Bird Life in the Bronx," "Curley Cue," and "Question Mark." In addition, Scott goes lunar with his visionary opus "Dedicatory Piece to the Crew and Passengers of the First Experimental Rocket Express to the Moon."

The CD includes jazzed-up arrangements of the light classics "Humoresque" and "Song of India," and over a dozen Tin Pan Alley standards which clock in at less than two minutes each. These miniatures, intended as radio program interludes, demonstrate Scott's skill as an editor, distilling the essence of songs in compressed form. Tunes like "Honeysuckle Rose," and "Blue Skies" were dolled up to affirm Scott's musical identity, with melodies respected. Scott seemed to prefer jazz in service to composition rather than vice-versa. However, he took his share of liberties as a composer by integrating original intros and bridges that re-invent these relics with an unmistakable Scott spirit.

Several tracks feature young vocalist Dorothy Collins crooning wordless vocals which sound eerily like a theremin.

The CD was produced by Raymond Scott authority Irwin Chusid, who also wrote liner notes. The ECTOPLASM cover features an adapted 1951 illustration by legendary artist Jim Flora. In the late 1940s, Flora (1914-1998) illustrated bizarre, cartoonish jazz album covers for Columbia, and he did the same for RCA Victor during the 1950s.