Uncommon Ground ^ J Scott Franklin

J Scott Franklin
"The words come first". Scott says that nearly every song he writes begins with words and is followed by music. He's writing sound tracks to poems…painting life with words…searching for phrases that give us a sense of color and depth while striving to recreate personal memories for the listeners. "I'm not giving you my experience, I'm giving you a place to put yours."

The music that follows J. Scott's words depends on the setting. His music carries with it, a rustic, earth driven spirit that walks the line of rock and "real" country, and yet, there is a noticable jazz influence in his phrasing. As a solo artist, he performs with a loop station that allows him to incorporate guitar, trumpet and harmonies into live shows. His Influences range from Jack Kerouac & Chet Baker, to Johnny Cash, to Kurt Cobain…the list continues and he is a combination of them all. Scott admits that he was raised on "old school" country music, but after high school and college he played clubs and cruise ships as a jazz trumpeter. A frequently published poet, he was offered an English assistantship at UNLV, and later dubbed "the Chet Baker Guy" by area establishments due to a resemblence to the jazz great while performing ballads. J. Scott has studied and performed trumpet with members of the Count Basie Orchestra and for almost two years was trumpet soloist in a band led by former Motown and Grammy winning arranger Willie Smith. His music is a coherent collage of the different paths and influences that have brought him to what he does now.

J. Scott also performs as leader of imagining red, a four piece group that plays his writings. Past and current experiences have found him playing either his own works, or as a member of others' bands; in New York's Luna Lounge, Nashville's Boardwalk Café & the Broken Spoke, Cleveland's Barking Spider & Beachland Ballroom, Chicago, Pittsburgh and other cities and venues. J. Scott is a reoccurring guest on WRUW 91.1FM in Cleveland and WCSB 89.3 FM. He is presently involved with Racermason, the Aphrodesiatics, the Ross Feranda Jazz Quartet, Infinite Number of Sounds, and collaborates with others as a songwriter and trumpet player.