At a time of great conflict in our country – when words often fail us – music has the power to bridge divides. With his latest album Thornewood, released earlier this month, David Thorne Scott explores the intersection of Jazz and Americana, city and country, instrumentation and lyrics to create lush compositions and covers that are unifying, and healing, in their beauty.
We had the opportunity to ask Scott about writing and recording Thornewood as well as what it is like releasing an album during a pandemic.
Eponymous Review: Congratulations on Thornewood! How does it feel to have it released out into the world?
David Thorne Scott: Thank you, Laurie! I’m proud of the record. It’s the most complete artistic statement I have made so far. The singing is from the heart and the instrumental music is absolutely gorgeous. But I’m also sad that I can’t perform it for people live and in person. The space between musicians and audiences is so large during Covid times that all you can do is have faith that the meaning of the music will transmit through the ether.
ER: You open and close the album with a saxophone-filled cover of John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High”. Why did you choose that song as the introduction and outro to this release?
DTS: It is about the exhilaration of being young, on your own, with all the possibilities of life before you, followed by personal heartbreak and disillusionment with your fellow humans, and then in the end that youthful optimism is not extinguished by the bad breaks that reality dishes out. I wasn’t always sure we were going to include this song on the album because I didn’t know if it would resonate with other people like it does with me. After we recorded and mixed our version, I listened to it and got all teary. I feel like the trip it takes you on is exciting and profound, and you can hear all the lyrical shifts in tone that you might have missed in the John Denver version. Soul freedom and optimism in the face of darkness.
ER: The harmonies on “If I Needed You” are beautiful and lush. What was it like collaborating with Paula Cole on the recording?
DTS: Everyone knows Paula Cole is a powerful singer and songwriter, but they forget she is a Grammy-nominated producer. So even though I wrote the arrangement, it made sense for her to be the leader when we performed the duet in the studio. Sometimes I try to go for things that are too pretty or too perfect, and Paula made sure that the energy and the emotion of the vocals didn’t get sanded away with the rough edges. She was incredibly generous in guiding the session and I am thankful for her spirit and her skills.
ER: Did you enjoy producing the album with Mark Shilansky?
DTS: Mark is the person I enjoy playing with most in the world. He has an incredibly broad musical knowledge. We have done many many live gigs together as a duo, or part of a trio, quartet or quintet. But the album let us imagine performing with a much larger group. Some songs have three tracks of guitar: acoustic, electric, and lap steel. Others have two horns, or violin, or harmonica. Others have duet vocals or a background choir. Producing the record was like playing a gig with my dream band. Luckily we finished all the tracking before Covid, so we were able to edit and mix remotely over the summer.
ER: Thornewood has elements of Americana and jazz, two of the most quintessential American genres and, currently, our country is at a crossroads to say the least. Do you think that music can serve as a tool for healing and uniting?
DTS: I sure hope so. Making this album helped heal and unite my own soul, which is always torn between the country and the city. In my music, I often use something a little bit familiar that helps balance out the thing that is a little bit foreign. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. So music that straddles these two worlds of urban and rural can bring an openness to listen to the other side of the story. If you want to heal any relationship you have to listen, listen, listen.
ER: Do you plan on performing any virtual shows in support of Thornewood?
DTS: Yes, January 29th at 8pm ET on Facebook live. I’ll be singing all the songs and playing piano. Sadly no band because, you know, Covid. And I’m going to force my wife, kids, and housemates to be my live studio audience so it doesn’t feel so sterile. I hate that the big tech companies are stepping in to mediate between performers and audiences, but since we can’t have music venues right now I guess I’ll take it.
ER: What’s next? Are you working on any other projects?
DTS: Over the past 6 months I’ve composed about 15 songs to perform solo. Genre influences are rock, jazz, folk, and even classical. I planned this project last fall because I wanted to put together a solo singer/songwriter coffeehouse-type set. Hopefully the coffeehouses get opened up again soon so I can bring this music out of my bedroom.
ER: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
DTS: November and December were really hard times for a lot of us. All the anger and fear surrounding the election. Musicians suffering because that’s usually the time of year we are running around like crazy playing concerts and holiday events. But we made it to 2021 and we are still breathing. Let’s make this year better than the last one. Let’s find new ways to connect. Let’s bring back live music. So many of the old venues are gone, so let’s make new ones. Let’s make a new scene.
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Listen to “Rocky Mountain High” below and head over to Facebook to keep up with David Thorne Scott’s latest news. More information can be found at Davidthornescott.com.