Jazz vocalist saluted

Jet, March 17, 2003

Veteran jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott (2nd, 1) is congratulated after a recent sold-out concert performance at the Christina Cultural Arts Center's Clifford Brown Room in Wilmington, DE, by (l-r) Wilby Fletcher, Sr., founder of Wilmington Jazz Festival; Raye Jones Avery, executive director of the Christina Cultural Arts Center, and Mike Tate, president, Full Eclipse Entertainment Co., which sponsored the show.

Scott, 77, has influenced the music of Nancy Wilson, Ray Charles and the late Marvin Gaye. His career dates back to 1949 with the jukebox hit Everybody's Somebody's Fool with the Lionel Hampton big band. His career is chronicled in the new biography, Faith In Time: The Life Of Jimmy Scott, written by David Ritz. During the concert, Scott was presented with the keys to the city by City Council member Norman Oliver on behalf of Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker.