Jimmy Scott - If You Only Knew

Starring:Justin Robinson, David Ritz, Dwayne Cook Broadnax, Jimmy Scott, Grady Tate, Michael Kanan
Director: Matthew Buzzell
Studio: Rhino / Wea
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
A moving and highly personal documentary about one of the great unsung heroes of jazz, Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew. This meditative portrait of Scott's odyssey of loss and redemption weaves together extensive interviews, archival photos and international concert footage to create an intimate and personal document of Scott's lifelong struggle to confront exploitation, to reunite with family, and to find closure through his art.

Description

A moving and highly personal documentary about one of the great unsung heroes of jazz, Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew. This meditative portrait of Scott's odyssey of loss and redemption weaves together extensive interviews, archival photos and international concert footage to create an intimate and personal document of Scott's lifelong struggle to confront exploitation, to reunite with family, and to find closure through his art.
Track Listing:
1. Time After Time
2. Memories
3. Pennies From Heaven 4. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
5. Elie
6. Everybody's Somebody's Fool
7. Embraceable You
8. Everybody Needs Somebody
9. Falling in Love Is Wonderful
10. The Source
11. Why Was I Born? & My Mother's Eyes
12. All The Way
13. Home
14. If You Only Knew
Customer Reviews:

A must-have for any jazz aficionado!.......2007-02-26
"Time after Time"....Jimmy Scott sings in the beginning of the video, stretching out the lyrics, weaving in and out of the tempo really slowly, emphasizing words with his trademark hand gesture. WOW!! I thought. From the moment I heard his voice, I was absolutely captivated, I could not tear my eyes away from the screen. When he sings he really tells a story, the way he puts feeling and expression into a song, the way in which he uses the lyrics is spectacular!! I have never heard anyone do that, the only living person I can think of who does that is Nancy Wilson, and she'll be the first to tell you that Jimmy Scott was her biggest influence.

The video is spectacular. Not only do you get a chance to watch and listen to Jimmy Scott perform, but you get to know about the very tough life he led. What is really wonderful is that Jimmy, while acknowledging that he had some very horrible experiences, remains positive and states that he isn't the only one who has had problems in his life. He is grateful to be where he is today....one cannot detect any bitterness in him, just sheer joy and a deep love for music.

I guarantee that you will be very moved by this extraordinary documentary, one minute I would be laughing, the next minute really angry, then I would be crying or getting up and cheering!! After watching this video, I took out a song that I have been practising for an upcoming concert, thought deeply about the lyrics and what they mean to me....I asked myself whether I could project my feelings into the lyrics and in turn to the audience and move them the way Jimmy does? That is my goal. I may have a lot of work to do, but I thank Jimmy Scott for inspiring me.

I really regret that I never had a chance to see Jimmy Scott perform at the Blue Note when he came to Japan a couple of years ago. After watching the video, I see what I missed and I could kick myself!! For those of you who, like me, haven't seen him perform in person, watching this video is the next best thing. For those of you who just love good music, do yourselves a great favour and add this gem of a video to your collection. You won't regret it!

Incroyable!.......2005-12-26
These are not biography facts or "I'll show my knowledge- reviews", this is just what I think, I wrote it at the moment, and I pushed ENTER right away:
I was touched once before because of my love for Billie Holiday, a friend had invited me to his house and made me listen to this tune and I was taken away by this man who was the closest living voice that resembled her. Later, upon buying that CD, which I don't remember the name, I realized it was wishful thinking, but still this guy really intrigued me. That was in the late 80's, and it wasn't until recently that I saw this DVD in a store, and memories came back and I just had to buy it. This is a compelling view of a guy's humanity poured into the vitality that he gives to his singing, a very good explanation of how he sings like only he can. Early on in my life, I learned that every artist has a pathos, greek for passion, for something, here we learn about that passion in a very touching way. Corollary: if you don't get touched by this DVD, then you really don't have the right to proclaim that you are "into" jazz. To be into jazz, you have to feel, there might be a lot of good jazz artists out there, but only so few teach us how to feel the way they do. You can see clearly that this guy has conveyed his message to the world, he is not only an accomplished artist, but an accomplished human being, hence his happiness.
Jimmy Scott - If You Only Knew.......2005-06-23
Every now and then a true artist comes along that tugs so strongly at your heart strings that tears began to flow, such is the case with Little Jimmy Scott.

God bless the two young men who had the foresight and common sense to do this documentary. I hope to hear and see more from them in the very near future!!!!

It's been a long time since I've cried so hard.
The Only One.......2005-01-16
There'll never be another Jimmy Scott, no one can sing like he does. Little Jimmy is pure magic. Get it, get it, get it.
A must for any jazz collector.......2005-01-15
This beautiful DVD is simply a work of art.
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