Jimmy Scott

Released in 1955, Very Truly Yours was the first album that Jimmy Scott recorded for the Savoy label. After spending the better part of a decade singing in ensembles, first with Lionel Hampton and then with New Orleans bandleader Paul Gayten, Scott was poised to make a name for himself as a solo artist. These dozen songs, executed with a small jazz combo supporting him (including Charles Mingus on bass), find Scott in beautiful voice, confidently investing himself in well-chosen covers as well as some of his own great originals. From the opening number ("Imagination"), it's clear that you're hearing a rare and expressive voice. Here he sounds every bit as romantic and inventive as he continued to be decades later.

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Time On My Hands
• A2. Imagination
• A3. When Did You Leave Heaven
• A4. Everybody Needs Somebody
• A5. Why Don't You Open Your Heart
• A6. Guilty

• SIDE B
• B1. Don't Cry Baby
• B2. Street Of Dreams
• B3. Someone To Watch Over Me
• B4. The Show Goes On
• B5. Very Truly Yours