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Monday
Magazine, Victoria BC - July 2008
Indie Island Jazz - Butchart Gardens Entertainment
A
fixture on the local jazz scene for more than a decade,
Flora has a concise - yet thoughtful style on guitar.
Her vocals provide a nice counter-balance and she
plays melodies with a zen like shorthand. Her choice
of material will appeal to everyone, from her original
material to traditional Jazz choices.
Victoria
International Jazzfest - 2008
One
of Victoria's most notable jazz treasures, Flora Scott
guitarist/vocalist is the real deal. Her early studies
with artists such as Jay Clayton, Brian Nova and Oliver
Gannon have helped shape her talent into something
special; she's a lyrical performer and deft improviser
who can hold a club spellbound. With two acclaimed
CDs and cross-Canada airplay the word is out that
Flora Scott is someone to watch.
Monday
Magazine, Victoria BC - 2007
Collage
(independent)
Okay, whats's up with local jazz artists? Lately they
seem to be releasing one strong disc after another,
and Flora Scott's second album Collage is no exception.
As well as featuring Scott's signature voice (which
is smooth like silk stockings and sultry like a sexy
night during monsoon season), Collage also includes
a veritable who's who of coastal Canadian jazz talent
like bone master Hugh Fraser and noted Campbell Ryga
and Ross Taggart. Scott's voice has matured nicely
since her first release, Then and Now, and her guitar
work on these 12 tracks provides a nice counterpoint
to the album's sound. There's great choice of material
here to appeal to jazz audiences both traditional
(Duke Ellington's "Carvan", Alan Lerner's
"On a Clear Day") and emerging Nick Drakes's
"Riverman", and a decidedly Sex and the
City take on Gershwin's "Summertime"). And
while Scott's own sweet lead-off track "Illusions"
got me excited at the prospect of more original material,
alas, it's the only one here … but it shows great
promise. Collage proves that while people keep looking
to the rock scene for the next big Island act, it's
far more likely to be a jazz artist who breaks out.
Wow, what a great album.
-Al Brooks
Times
Colonist - Sunday September 11th, 2005
CD
REVIEWS
Scott offers jazz vocals with class
Flora Scott Octet Collage (self-produced)
"On the opening, smooth operator original, Illusions,
local jazz vocalist Flora Scott one-note sambas through
a very clever, juicy arrangement backed by an augmented
Hugh Fraser Quintet featuring Mike Zachenuk's horn
solo. Scott has a pinched, muted-trumpet vocal sound
that is nicely framed by tenor sax star Ross Taggart's
muscular, concise solo on I Love Being Here With You.
On other cuts, scat singing over her guitar, Scott
is like another horn in the band's expanded studio
line-up. She offers a collection of jazz standards
from the songsmith canon, bebop master Horace Silver's
Senor Blues, mope-rock auteur Nick Drake's poignant
Riverman, and a roiling, instrumental reading of Caravan.
It's a classy, mostly- mainstream offering."
BY JOSEPH BLAKE - Times Colonist staff
Cowichan
Valley Citizen
"..the
Valley's inaugural Jazz and Blues Festival"-
"The audience was treated to a full day and evening
of top-notch jazz and blues at the Cowichan Golf and
Country Club." "..performing were guitarist-vocalist-songwriter
Flora Scott and her quartet." "Scott's training
from the likes of Jay Clayton, coupled with on-stage
experience with such names as Slide Hampton and Hugh
Fraser, was evident in a cool set of unique melodies
and rhythms that touched upon different jazz eras."
Jazz Times Nov. 1999:
"With
a repertory anchored in the bedrock of American popular
song, Canadian vocalist Flora Scott swings with an
insouciance reminiscent of the hip nonchalance of
Mose Allison. Her bluesy inflections in evergreens
like "Exactly Like You" simmer. Taking the
measure of poignant fare such as Earl Hines' "Everything
Depends On You," Scott proves a compelling storyteller.
She's also an effective guitarist. The tight combo
charts are by Anita Bonkowski." - Chuck Berg
B.C.
Report - Newsmagazine June 1999
"Victoria
jazz guitarist Flora Scott has been playing seriously
for almost a decade, she released her first C.D.,
THEN AND NOW just two months ago." "..her
C.D. is getting airplay, mostly on C.B.C."
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