Dred Scott Trio

While playing, the pianist sometimes gets antsy and stands up, a la Jerry Lee Lewis. It's a move that reminds just how physical his music can be -- especially a piece like "Mojo Rhythm." Splash is part of this group's persona. This summer at Newport they made groggy morning crowd act midnightish. For the last three years at this downtown venue, they've been making a midnightish crowd act rockish (meaning whoopish). Blending pop, bop, pulse, and clatter, they get to a place that swings on its own terms. And they entertain as well. Prep for the Halloween gig by donning your "anything goes" psyche. JIM MACNIE - village voice

This album is the Dred Scott Trio’s tribute to one of its most frequent gigs in New York. In a city where regular engagements are more and more scarce it is a beautiful thing to see the relationship this band shares with a venue; Live at the Rockwood Music Hall is a beautiful showcase of this dynamic piano trio.
Right away the listener is drawn in to the group’s lively energy. “Well, You Might” is a solid opener, with a pulsating melody that speaks of modernism. Scott’s solo is equally mesmerizing; his lines soaring through the chord changes at a speed that leaves listeners wondering what just flew by them.
The band shows they know how to groove on “The Wizard.” This modern and somewhat funky take on Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard” speaks of a musical heritage in a forward-looking style. Drummer Tony Mason shines on this track with his cohorts driving him forward with the repetitious melody. “This Ain’t No Russian Novel, Baby” is beautiful in its simplicity and swinging in its feel. The band blends together nicely for a fresh take on the modern trio sound.
One comes away from this album confident that jazz is still alive and kicking and that there are still places where it is welcomed. - allaboutjazz-newyork

a restless trio…appealingly rugged. - nate chinen

[Live at the Rockwood Music Hall] demonstrates that Scott’s vision of bop is a deeply personal one, which
can be either cozily swinging or devilishly tricky - Time Out New York

a certain Satanic allure … - JazzMan (France)

reorienting the compass of jazz... - San Francisco Bay Guardian

a disciple of psychedelic subterfuge, coupled with post-cool intensity... - SF Weekly

Scott is not a fine—in fact, magnificent—pianist, he is a fine, magnificent all-around musician. - Phil Elwood - San Francisco Examiner

dred scott returns to conquer with jazz trio.

It seems a long time ago when Dred Scott was a prince of the city. It was the mid-'90s, and Scott was keyboardist and founding member of rap-jazz-funk outfit Alphabet Soup, which held down a weekly spot at the Up and Down Club on Folsom Street.

This was the last time San Francisco had a jazz scene actively supported by nightclubs. They called it acid jazz, and bands like the Broun Fellinis, the Charlie Hunter Trio and Mingus Amungus packed clubs like the Paradise Lounge, the Club DV8 and Bruno's.

When the scene fizzled, Scott left for New York, gradually making a name for himself as an iconoclastic entertainer in a jazz-trio format with a muscular, unpredictable style and a penchant for covering pop tunes. He lives in Brooklyn, plays weekly at the Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan's Lower East Side and gets side gigs backing up lots of singers.

This week Scott, 45, returns to the Bay Area with his trio - Ben Rubin on stand-up bass and Tony Mason on drums - for shows at the Oakland Yoshi's and the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. The Chronicle caught up with Scott over the phone.

Q: Let's get this out of the way first: There's also a rapper named Dred Scott. How do you avoid confusion?

A: Well, to my knowledge I'm the only white guy named Dred Scott (laughs). There's also a visual artist named Dread Scott, and occasionally I get calls from galleries asking if I want to display my work.

Q: How does a white guy have the name of a famous slave?

A: My real name is Joseph Patrick Scott. I grew up in St. Louis, and when I was out with my mother she'd always point to the courthouse steps and say, "Right over there, that's where they used to sell slaves." And it was mind-blowing to my young mind that people would do something like that. And St. Louis is where the Dred Scott decision went down. ... It was the catalyst for the Civil War. It's part of my history growing up, so when I was looking for a name, that came up right away. Plus, I have a really sarcastic, dark sense of humor.

Q: So I hear you're in the movies these days.

A: Yeah, the Dred Scott Trio is in a scene in the movie "Once More With Feeling" that played at Sundance. I also composed the score for a documentary called "Home" with Susan Sarandon, Mike Myers and Liam Neeson. The actors talk about their relationship to New York.

Q: What else is up with the trio?

A: We have a new album out called "Live at the Rockwood Music Hall." We've been playing every Tuesday night there at midnight for three years. It's a great gig. We're also gonna make a second album of tunes, "Standards 2000 Vol. 2," that'll be covers like "California Dreaming," "Physical," "Don't Fear the Reaper" and "The Long and Winding Road."

Q: "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John?

A: Yeah. We do it as a slow bossa nova. I got the idea from Goldfrapp - they do a great version of it.

Q: Why play pop tunes as opposed to jazz standards?

A: It's what jazz musicians have always done. They play the tunes that are around them. It connects to the audience. The problem is, these days, songs don't have enough chords in them. That's why I play a lot of songs from the '60s. Also, a Zep tune or Pink Floyd tune, that's deep in the lexicon. People love that.

Q: Your old band Alphabet Soup played the Monterey and San Francisco jazz festivals. Last summer, the Dred Scott Trio played the Newport Jazz Festival.

A: Yeah, that was a huge opportunity for us. The crowd was really into it even though it was early in the morning. You know, we had a PR guy working with us who came up with this slogan, "Jazz for people who don't like jazz." I didn't really like that, but when you hire people you gotta let them do what they do. But when I look out into the crowd and see girls having a really good time - as opposed to people just staring at the band with blank faces - that feels really great.


- david rubien

Dred Scott has a highly abusive relationship with his piano. One minute he’s in a furious rage, poking, jamming and slapping the keys around like a coked-up mobster. Then, after cooling down a bit, he’s apologizing with tender ticklings and delicate caresses, trying to convince each key that he’s sorry and he’ll change. But no matter how bad it gets, sooner or later they always come back to each other. Plus, one listen to the fusion of rock, funk and hip-hop-laced jazz that comes out of their union proves that dysfunctional relationships are often the most exciting. - curtis cartier