Randy Scott

Saxophonist Randy Scott is a celebrated performer and educator known for his blend of contemporary jazz, gospel, and R&B. A three-time winner of It's Showtime at the Apollo, Scott first emerged in the '90s with his eponymous debut and garnered yet more fans with albums like 2007's Breathe, 2011's 90 Degrees at Midnight, and 2015's Serenity. He has also earned accolades behind the scenes, sharing Grammy nominations for his work with Vickie Winans and collaborating on projects with Kirk Franklin, Tim Bowman, Jr. and others. Based in the Detroit area, Scott splits his time between teaching and performing. In 2020, he topped the Billboard's Smooth Jazz Airplay Chart with the title track to his album Elevation. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Scott started on the saxophone at a young age, encouraged by his mother's love of jazz. While still in high school, he was able to meet his idol and future mentor, saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. who encouraged him to take advantage of his scholarship at Michigan State University to study classical music. It was while at MSU that competed in and won his first of three appearances at New York's It's Showtime at the Apollo. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in music education (and prior to earning his master's degree from Wayne State University), Scott established his own Detroit-area music production company and recording studio. While teaching music locally, he also wrote, recorded, and produced, working with a variety of artists, especially in the gospel field, his early clients including MSU Wind Symphony, Gwen Dickies, and Harri Paris in the early '90s. In 1993, he made his solo with the eponymously titled Randy Scott, for which he wrote all the tunes and served as producer. Over the next six years, he played on and/or produced albums by Kirk Franklin, Detroit poet Darold Gholston, In Accord, Jennifer Kendall, Rodney Mansfield, Men of Standard, James Moss, Sharon Riley & Faith Chorale, and Jacqueline Turner-Robinson. His second solo album, Future, arrived in 1999. Returning to session work, he played on and/or produced albums by Rance Allen, Ted Brannon, Jacky Clark, and Cheri Oliver, among others. (He also wrote songs for Allen, Shelby.Brown, and Martin Taylor.) In 2002, he delivered his third solo album, Words Unspoken. Between 2003 and 2006, his session and production work included albums by Bamm Davis, Paul Hill, Keefe Marzell, Michael Mindingall, Terrance Palmer, Aden Springsteen, Al Turner, and Vickie Winans. He also served as saxophonist in the band of guitarist Tim Bowman, who appeared on his fourth solo album, Breathe, released by Megawave Records on July 10, 2007. In 2009, he played on Winans' Grammy-nominated album How I Got Over. In 2011, Scott made his Trippin 'n' Rhythm label debut with the Demetrius Nabors-produced 90 Degrees at Midnight. More albums followed on the label, including 2015's Serenity and 2020's Elevation, the latter of which spawned a title-track hit which reached number one on Billboard's Smooth Jazz Airplay Chart. ~ Matt Collar & William Ruhlmann, Rovi