The Radio Big Band, featuring John Scott

"What a great band! They can swing with the best of them, past and present! And John Scott is some crooner. Give my congratulations to all for a passionate exemplary performance."
- Bo Lewis, host of WNAV's Big Band Dance Party.

Scottish born arranger/conductor Barry Forgie, who regularly conducted the Radio Big Band since 1977, has worked as Musical Associate on several Hollywood films, conducted Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song And Dance in the West End and his own compositions include the 50-minute Beatles symphony.

The Radio Big Band have received the British Jazz Award for Best Big Band in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2001. They have worked with artists as varied as Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Cleo Lane, George Shearing, Arturo Sandoval, Clark Terry, Van Morrison, Cybill Shepherd and now our own John Scott.

The Radio Big Band:

Review from the music editor for EdinburghGuide.com

The Radio Big Band has a long, distinguished track record. So when a new CD comes our way, I know that it's got to be good - and when its two tracks are called Fascinating City and That Old Forth Bridge and Me - then how can we not listen?

From its very first bars, Fascinating city, sets the scene as firmly in the Big Band, American songbook tradition. The very word Edinburgh isn't easy to set to music, never mind incorporate it into a tribute song, so the band's done wonders in capturing the city's upbeat 21st century essence as "the greatest show on earth". John Scott's crystal clear words evoke images which are enhanced by the rise and fall of the melody lines. Track 2 is a very nostalgic hymn to that world engineering icon, the 19th century the Forth Railway Bridge - a truly unexpected subject for a song. The words tell of the memories and emotions the singer feels at the sight of its three great cantilevers and the music's triple spiky rhythms underpin that. However, both songs are very upbeat and don't at any point invoke the more serene, luminous, haunting beauty of Scotland.

Both songs deserve to be picked up by Edinburgh's City Fathers and seriously considered as emotive musical ambassadors. But they need to be played and sung by many more interpreters to embed them in the big band tradition. For £1.99, you get two brand new songs about Scotland's two world icons, you get music to swing to, you get top quality, bang up to the minute recording and engineering (cut in the BBC's Pebble Mill Studios) and a CD to take to play whenever you need or want to impress folks about Edinburgh's allure. Top quality, good price, would appeal to ex-patriate Scots anywhere!

Review from mainlybigbands.com

The fact that there are good, well schooled band singers out there, is a relief. John Scott, who may have listened to a Sinatra album or two gives us all hope. Regardless of what the charts cynically indicate, to be an impressive vocalist is not that easy, it takes a belief in good music, being blessed with genuine talent and hard work. There are two tracks on this CD and the concept is an appreciation of Edinburgh and the Forth Bridge. The genesis of the treatment may lie in Sinatra's homage to Chicago or New York. Arranger Barry Forgie has done two excellent arrangements that allow the band to swing mightily as big bands should.