James Scott (composer)

James Sylvester Scott ( born February 12, 1886 in Neosho, Missouri; † August 30, 1938 in Kansas City, Missouri) was an American ragtime pianist and composer.

After the family Scott was to Carthage, Missouri, emigrated in 1901, James began working in a music shop. Soon realized the shopkeeper Charles L. Dumars his talent and Scott started doing pianos. Since he also played his own compositions, which thus created demand Dumars, first works Scotts prompted printed surrendered. 1906 Scott moved to St. Louis, where he met Scott Joplin, this gave him to John Stark, his own publisher and already with his first published here Rag, the " Frog Legs Rag ," James Scott had great success. In 1914 he moved to Kansas City. He married, continued to compose successful Rags, worked as a piano teacher and ran a theater orchestra.

The advent of the talkies and the displacement of Ragtime by the increasingly popular Jazz finished in the early 1920s, his successful career. Even the death of his wife during this period may have contributed to. His latest release dates from 1922.

James Scott heard alongside Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb to the "Big Three", the most important representatives of the classical -composed ragtime. His works are pianistic continuously demanding and are also musically with the Joplin Rags on a stage.