Born in West Virginia in 1951, Scott grew up in a small Ohio town where he started playing piano at age twelve. While his teen years drew him into rock bands, he remained serious about his classical studies, turning down a swimming scholarship to study music at Ohio University (which this year awarded him its Music Achievement Award for the year 2000). After graduation, the influence of the Sudanese musician Hamza El Din led him to graduate studies in ethno-musicology at the University of Washington.

In 1977, Scott traveled to Ecuador where he lived first in the desert-like Chota Valley, moving on to the Andes to do field research for his master’s thesis. The music of the Ecuadorian people has a fascinating overlay of African, Hispanic and native Andean rhythms, and Scott’s immersion in this culture and music resulted in an influx of Indian and Latin rhythms and themes in his own music.

After his return, Scott began performing, recording and creating film and video scores, developing his style and approach to composition. He has since produced 10 albums and scores for a number of projects. He is currently living in the Northwest and preparing new compositions for his next recording project.