3 O'Clock Lab Band
Brad Leali, director
For three decades, the vocal artistry of the multi-talented Arkansas-born vocalist Cynthia Scott has encompassed the swing of jazz, the soul of blues, R&B, and the sacred stirrings of gospel music. She is loved by audiences from New York to Africa, Europe and Asia; by musicians from Wynton Marsalis to Ray Charles – who discovered her – and by jazz critics like the Chicago Tribune’s Howard Reich, who called her “a mesmerizing vocalist.”
Cynthia studied acting under Uta Hagen and Austin Pendleton and she has joined the world as a Playwright and actress with her one woman play with music “One Raelette’s Journey.” The play showcases some of the music from her latest CD Dream for One Bright World – her fifth as a leader. It is an incredible, eleven-track recording featuring some of New York’s finest musicians including, pianist/keyboardist John diMartino, multi-reedist Bill Easley, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, drummer Yoron Israel, tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffrey, trumpeter Etienne Charles, trombonist Andrae Murchinson, and percussionist Jeff Haynes. ....
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3 O'Clock Lab Band
Brad Leali, director
For three decades, the vocal artistry of the multi-talented Arkansas-born vocalist Cynthia Scott has encompassed the swing of jazz, the soul of blues, R&B, and the sacred stirrings of gospel music. She is loved by audiences from New York to Africa, Europe and Asia; by musicians from Wynton Marsalis to Ray Charles – who discovered her – and by jazz critics like the Chicago Tribune’s Howard Reich, who called her “a mesmerizing vocalist.”
Cynthia studied acting under Uta Hagen and Austin Pendleton and she has joined the world as a Playwright and actress with her one woman play with music “One Raelette’s Journey.” The play showcases some of the music from her latest CD Dream for One Bright World – her fifth as a leader. It is an incredible, eleven-track recording featuring some of New York’s finest musicians including, pianist/keyboardist John diMartino, multi-reedist Bill Easley, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, drummer Yoron Israel, tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffrey, trumpeter Etienne Charles, trombonist Andrae Murchinson, and percussionist Jeff Haynes. .
Cynthia Scott’s roots, the source of her inspiring drive and artistry, are firmly planted in African-American culture. She was born and raised in El Dorado, Arkansas, the tenth of twelve children, whose parents were married for seventy years. Her father was a preacher. She started singing at the age of four, and was exposed to a wide variety of music. She grew up soaking in a myriad of influences including Carmen McCrae, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin and then later, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.
When Scott moved to Dallas after she graduated from high school in Arkansas, those influences formed into one soaring and syncopated voice that was all hers. While working as an airline stewardess, she honed her craft with some of the best musicians in Dallas: James Clay, Claude Johnson, Roger Boykin, Onzy Matthews, Marchel Ivery, and Red Garland. And then, she got her big break after receiving a call from Ray Charles in 1972. She became a Raelette – one of the select women chosen to be Charles’ back-up singer. Scott worked with the Genius for two years, which included a European tour with Oscar Peterson with Joe Pass and The Count Basie Orchestra with Joe Williams. After Charles’ death, Scott would go on to work with many of his star sidemen including Hank Crawford, Marcus Belgrave, Leroy Cooper and David “Fathead” Newman.
Free admission.
Parking for concerts after 5 PM and on weekends in the music building please use the lot on Highland Street located between Bain Hall and Music Practice South and North.
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