The Stu Brown Sextet - Twisted Toons: The Music Of Raymond Scott - CD

Raymond Scott's music is familiar - albeit predominantly anonymously - to millions through its use in the classic Warner Bros cartoons of the 1940s. The music wasn't written for that purpose, but its manic and offbeat character lent itself perfectly to the antics of Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Wyle E. Coyote, Road Runner, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Marvin the Martian, Foghorn Leghorn and, more recently, Ren and Stimpy, and The Simpsons. The original Raymond Scott Quintette only recorded between 1937 and 1939 but, in 1943, Warner Bros bought Scott's publishing, and soon after this his music began to crop up in Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoons. Few people are aware that the origin of these melodies was in the music of a quirky 1930s six-piece outfit whose brand of screwy 'descriptive jazz' was never intended for use in animation, or that the leader of this group went on to be a pioneering inventor and electronic musician.
Glasgow based drummer, Stu Brown, formed his sextet in 2008 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Raymond Scott's birth, and his lovingly prepared project aims to celebrate the music of one of the great, but not widely recognized musical geniuses, of the 20th century.
Twisted Toons: The Music of Raymond Scott features 19 tracks showcasing the band's energetic and accurate recreations of Scott's music, alongside two imaginative re-workings of his electronic pieces. Scott's forgotten gems are brought back to life through meticulous transcriptions (mostly by Stu Brown), which the band negotiates with humour, virtuosity and tight ensemble playing.

1. Square Dance For Eight Egyptian Mummies / 2. Devil Drums / 3. The Penguin / 4. New Year's Eve In A Haunted House / 5. The Toy Trumpet / 6. Boy Scout In Switzerland / 7. Suicide Cliff / 8. In An 18th Century Drawing Room / 9. Moment Musical / 10. Powerhouse / 11. Egyptian Barn Dance (piano solo) / 12. Hypnotist In Hawaii / 13. Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals / 14. At An Arabian House Party / 15. Tobacco Auctioneer / 16. Twilight In Turkey / 17. War Dance For Wooden Indians / 18. The Bass Line Generator / 19. Toy Typewriter