Raymond Scott, composer, bandleader and inventor, was one of the most important pioneers in contemporary experimental music. His genius and influence have permeated almost subliminally into popular culture consciousness. Scott, a visionary whose name and music are not well-known, had a life full of contradictions. His early work was in anticipation of the invention of bebop. However, Scott’s obsession with perfectionionism and memorization was contrary to jazz’s improvisational ethos. Although his most well-known compositions are still in use as soundtracks to cartoons, Scott never wrote an explicit note for animation. His later experiments with electronic music were the first to introduce the ambient concept. However, it wasn’t until ten years after his original recordings were released that the ambient concept was actually introduced. Born Harry Warnow on September 10, 1908 in Brooklyn, he was an accomplished musician. He started playing the piano at the age of two and then went on to study engineering. However, his older brother Mark, who is a highly successful violinist and conductor, had other plans. He bought his sibling a Steinway Grand, and convinced him to go to the Institute of Musical Art. Later renamed the Juilliard School. Scott, the name that was apparently randomly chosen from the Manhattan telephone book, signed up as a staff piano with the CBS radio station house band led by his brother. He found the standard repertoire boring and uninspired and began to present his own compositions. Soon, bizarre Scott originals such as “Confusion Among a Fleet Of Taxicabs Upon meeting with a Fare” started creeping into broadcasts. Scott was a CBS member until 1936 when he convinced Herb Rosenthal that he could form his own band. He assembled a group that included fellow network veterans Lou Shoobe, Dave Harris, Pete Pumiglio, Johnny Williams, and Bunny Berigan. The group was dubbed the Raymond Scott Quintette. They debuted on Saturday Night Swing Session’s “The Toy Trumpet” with the song. The Quintette became a huge hit and Scott was offered a Master label recording contract. The group quickly experienced dissent as Scott’s over-practiced schedule started to wear down his bandmates. Berigan quit soon because the tight compositions — which were never written down, taught, or developed one oddball phrase at the time — did not allow for any improvisations. Despite Scott’s eccentricities his records sold well. His Dadaist titles (“Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals,” and “Reckless Night aboard an Oceanliner”) were juxtaposed melodies and odd time signatures and bizarre arrangements somehow connected with mainstream American audiences. The Quintette soon found fame, performing music and appearing in films like Ali Baba Goes to Town, Nothing Sacred, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and Ali Baba Goes to Town. In 1938, Scott was selected to be CBS’ next music director. He also expanded the Quintette to a large-band size and quit his position on the network to take his ensemble on the road by 1940. In 1942, Scott returned to CBS, but he assembled the first ever racially diverse studio orchestra in broadcasting history. Warner Bros.’ fledgling animation division purchased Scott’s back catalogue rights in 1941. Music director Carl Stalling made extensive use of the music in his cutting-and-pasting cartoon soundtracks. Quintette favorites such as the rolling “Powerhouse” quickly became instantly recognizable for their frequent appearances in classic Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck clips. The same music that supported the crazy antics of Ren.
