Hi guys I've been a fan of JS since I got his A&C LP more than 40 years ago. He never ceases to amaze - well maybe a few times. But certainly more hits than misses. I especially like his Colchester Symphony. I'm listening to it as I write this.
About those unreleased scores. Has bobbengan/anyone/the man himself investigated the possibility of crowdfunding some/one/a few releases? Judging by the enthusiastic requests for more of his music in other threads eg the Robin Hood music, I'll bet there are a few of us out there willing to try and make it happen. He's not getting any younger and the time will come soon enough when he'll stop writing...
But for the record I'll restate here that I do have these recordings from John himself.
Film scores:
- HAREM (Perhaps my personal favorite work of John’s and the one I am most invested in helping get released). - A complete GREYSTOKE - Complete MOUNTBATTEN (not a ton was missing from the Varese issue) - BILLY TWO HATS - HENESSEY - THE QUEEN'S GARDEN (70's documentary score) - SYMPTOMS - BLACK RAINBOW (though I have it on good authority this is being commercially released soon-ish) - DETONATOR 2 - JECKYL & HYDE silent film score - Several unreleased Cousteau scores (CUBA: WATERS OF FREEDOM, MADAGASCAR and CLIPPERTON: THE ISLAND THAT TIME FORGOT)
Unreleased Concert Works:
- Guitar Concerto (“Celtic Kingdom”) - String Quartets I, II & III - Double Concerto for Trumpet Strings & Harp - Clarinet Quartet - Saxophone Concerto from the 1960’s - A piece called “Fear” for Orchestra - “Oceanic Sketches” for Thirteen Instruments
I also have a live performance of his ROBIN HOOD silent film score performed w/ the Royal Phil in 2012, it's glorious and perhaps one of his best works overall, just teeming with melody, spirit and creativity. Sadly the recording, while clear enough for archival purposes and casual listening enjoyment, isn't fit for a CD release and that's a damn shame because it's both fantastic music and a very spirited performance from the RPO. I will upload a 30-minute or so suite of the two-hour score at some point for all of your listening pleasure when I have the time.
Likewise I'd love to know the whereabouts of this score for his 2003 French drama score, SMALL CUTS. A sparingly used but wonderful score showing Scott stretch his delicate arthouse muscle to gorgeous effect. Recorded w/ the Philharmonia Orchestra and I suspect the tapes live in London or France, where he also owns property:
He also has tapes going back basically to the beginning of his recording career for tons of other things as well, including at least one other unreleased score that I could find (THE LONG ROAD HOME, a beautiful American score for a totally forgotten 1999 family film). What I'd do to get a gander at his London home though, where he's mentioned "a lot more stuff" lives. All the above are just things I've been able to get from his laptop here in LA. It's my hope to do a proper archive of all his tapes and reel when he returns to LA next, so that I can properly inform labels what he has, what shape it's in and so forth.
Well Tobias, you'll be happy to know it's all here, in mint shape, on my laptop, and perhaps some enterprising label might be able to help get it released one day.
Bobbengan Please don't torment us by admitting that you have all this stuff of his without giving us some options :-). Let us know what we can do.
What does it take? Money? Time? For example: if you don't have the time to create a suite out of the RHood music I'll happily give it a crack. Just say the word!! fwp
As for what's actually holding up the release of the aforementioned scores? Well, mostly John himself I'm afraid to say. He's off traveling the world right now (well, back in London at the very moment, but still more or less off the grid) and writing all manner of chamber and concert works. I've known him personally since the beginning of 2016 and it this time he's off and disappeared for lengthy interludes sometimes stretching for six months or more. Quite the globetrotter! He insists he intends to revisit JOS though obviously that label has been inactive for well over a decade now and I think needless to say, releasing old scores just isn't a priority of his at this point any longer when he still has so much new music he wants to write.
Intrada and I'm sure others are doing their best to get numerous things of his going and I am doing what I can to help with that (I defer to Roger as to whether or not it's appropriate to drop titles at this time).
Good things come to those who wait. I know it's frustrating and heaven knows what else is just sitting around in boxes in his home in London, collecting dust. Wish I had access to that place but even then there's already an overwhelming amount of material in his Los Angeles home as is!
