Electronic Music Pioneer, Cartoon Music Icon - Raymond Scott Documentary

Electronic music pioneer, cartoon music composer, jazz music bandleader and music machine inventor Raymond Scott is the subject of the documentary film Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott, which is set for its New York theatrical premiere on July 13th at the Quad Cinema (http://www.quadcinema.com), 34 West 13th Street, between 5th & 6th Avenue. The award-winning documentary film (http://ScottDoc.com) about the musical and technological visionary, his electronic music inventions and cartoon music compositions, will have a one-week theatrical run at the Quad, and then the documentary film will expand into additional theaters and cities throughout the summer and fall. The film’s theatrical release coincides with the 75th anniversary of Raymond Scott’s music.

Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott explores the life and work of American maverick composer, jazz music bandleader, music machine inventor, cartoon music creator, and electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott (1908-1994), presented from the unique perspective of his filmmaker son Stan Warnow (film editor on many notable films including: The Honeymoon Killers, the Academy Award®-winning concert film Woodstock, Hair, Music from the Inside Out, and producer, director & supervising editor of the award-winning feature documentary film, In Our Hands).

Raymond Scott’s distinctively original sounds and scores, ranging from classical to jazz music to electronica, are instantly identifiable to millions who have viewed the cartoon music in the 120 Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons in which his music appears (music procured by Warner Brothers’ legendary music director Carl Stalling, who licensed Scott’s tunes to amplify the antics of Bugs Bunny and company). His amalgam of jazz music, classical and electronic sounds overflows happily throughout the documentary film - which tells the fascinating story of this native New Yorker’s incredible journey through the 20th century. Scott’s electronic music and music machines paved the way for today’s synthesizers and sequencers.

Scott’s career that began in the 1930s swing / big-band era and continued with his cartoon music in the 1940s, through the experimental electronic music age of the 1970s. The Raymond Scott Quintette, the groundbreaking group that brought Scott his early fame, played a unique madcap amalgam of jazz and composed music. In the 1940’s Scott formed, conducted and composed for the first integrated network radio orchestra - a dynamic big band featuring jazz music greats like saxophonist Ben Webster, drummer Cozy Cole, trumpeter Bunny Berigan and others. He led the band on the popular show Your Hit Parade.

Interviewees in the documentary film who speak about Scott’s electronic music innovations, cartoon music and more include famous fans: Academy Award winning film composer John Williams, Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, cutting edge music producer Hal Willner, DJ / philosopher Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky), Moog synthesizer co-inventor Herb Deutsch, Grammy nominated musicians Don Byron and Jeremy Cohen as well as other Scott devotees, colleagues and relatives.

Much more than a biography, the documentary film Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott is also a personal quest for film-maker Stan Warnow to unravel the timeless fabric of love, connection and rejection that are a part of every parent child relationship - with the additional element of a famous father obsessed with his work, and further complicated by divorce and scandal. It deals with the ambivalence the filmmaker still feels for his emotionally distant father - a mixture of love, admiration and sadness for all that was missing from their relationship. But combined with this personal angle is always a return to the fascinating story of this music innovator who had a meteoric rise to household name success, a slow spiral into obscurity, an extended struggle with a series of strokes, and now, posthumously, a growing national and international awareness of his vital role in modern music.

Deconstructing Dad is a Cavu Pictures release of a Waterfall Films production. Produced by Stan Warnow. Co-producer, Jeff Winner. Directed, edited by Stan Warnow. Isil Bagdadi, CAVU Pictures / CAVU PR. 212-246-6300. To see the film’s trailer and for further information visit http://scottdoc.com/

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