Jay Scott (saxophonist)

After graduating from high school, Scott played saxophone with Mitch Goodson of MG and the K-PERS and they played Panama City beach on a regular basis. It was there that he was spotted by Sonny Turner. Sonny had recently left The Platters and was starting a solo career as Sonny Turner and Sound Unlimited; he hired Scott on the spot to go on tour and Scott traveled around the states. The band played Las Vegas a great deal and it was there that Scott was also hired to be in the house band for famous comedians like Rodney Dangerfield and Rich Little.

In the mid-'70s, Scott returned to Dothan. His sister Laura introduced him to musicians in the area. Scott was hired by the band Satyr.

In 1977, Scott decided to move to Atlanta to find session work. He played in the horn section on Lynyrd Skynyrd's song "What’s Your Name" (1977), produced by Tom Dowd.

Scott was then discovered by a young producer, Steve Buckingham, who enlisted him to play on a new disco record coming out on Polydor, featuring the 1978 single, Alicia Bridges’ “I Love the Nightlife.” Scott's solo on that song caught the attention of many musical admirers. His sister Linda, who was living in New York City at the time, remembers when Scott performed at the famous East Village club, The Bottom Line, backing Alicia Bridges. She explained that Scott had also struggled with Bells Palsy throughout his life and had learned how to play through muscle weakness on one side of his face.^{[citation needed]} Despite this, Scott was able to learn to play two saxophones simultaneously through intentionally isolating his muscles. Scott featured this technique during The Bottom Line show, and according to Linda, the New York City audience leapt to their feet, cheering.^{[citation needed]}

When the Grammys were held in 1978, “I Love the Nightlife” was nominated for best song and Alicia Bridges performed the song at the ceremony. After Scott’s success with Alicia Bridges, he soon garnered the attention of other music producers and recorded the featured sax solo on various gold and platinum records at this time: Melissa Manchester’s “Whenever I Call You Friend” (1979); Dione Warwick’s “Easy Love” (1980); Paul Davis’ “He Sang Our Love Songs” (1980); and Kansas.

Scott also recorded with other Dothan artists like John Rainey Adkins, David Adkins (sister Laura’s husband), and Rodney Justo who had gained commercial success in the late '70s with their band Beaverteeth. Scott was featured on their two albums: Beaverteeth ("I’m Callin", 1977) and Dam It ("Stop that River in Your Eye", 1978).

In the 1980s, Scott moved to Panama City Beach and played for more than two decades on the Emerald Coast. Using backing tracks, he played solo gigs and led other band configurations, as well as with the guitar player, Lowell Howell. He also began teaching and volunteered to teach children for free at the Martin Luther King Center. He married a local guitar-player/singer, Pat in 1993, while he continued his musical endeavors.

Besides his saxophone playing, Scott was a soul singer and also a multi-instrumentalist – playing flute, congas, and piano. He was plagued by various health problems, having been through a serious motorcycle accident which required a hip replacement.

On September 3, 2009, Scott died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 57.^[1]