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Scott Thomas
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“He was a total stand-up guy.” “An extra good dude” “A great guy to know.” “A gentleman’s gentleman.”
This is a small sampling of the beautiful things that musicians from around New Orleans had to say after the recent passing of our friend, guitarist and sound engineer Scott Thomas. Thomas was born and raised in the New Orleans area and played music professionally for four decades. Even if his name was not familiar to all of the public, he was widely known amongst blues and R&B musicians around town, as well the many fans he encountered while playing guitar with Marva Wright and the BMWs, Lee Dorsey, Dino Kruse, and for the last few years, Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys. His friends were shocked and saddened by his sudden passing and felt that with his death, a cherished member of our community was gone.
“He was always the model musician,” recalls Wright, for whom Thomas played for many years. “He was always on time, and if he had to learn a tune, he went to the extreme to do it. He did whatever he could to make the gig go smoother, even if he wasn’t on the gig. And he was as good as a sound tech as he was a musician.”
In addition to his sharp musical skills, Thomas is remembered for his laidback, sunny personality, as well as his generosity. “He was one of these guys that had a lot of friends that would consider him a best friend of 20 or 30 years,” says keyboardist Joe Krown. “He had a profound effect on a lot of people”.
Saxophonist and bandleader Charles “Chucky C” Elam was a long-time friend and fellow BMW. He noted Thomas’ even demeanor and consistency. “Great guy. Never bothered, never flustered.”
“It’s a personal loss for me,” said drummer Mike Barras, a friend of 20 years who Thomas recruited into Shaw’s band. “There were times when he was solely responsible for me playing music. He single-handedly kept me playing, so I felt like I owed him a lot.”
In spite of Thomas’ relative modesty and mastery of supporting roles, keyboardist Marc Adams remembers circumstance making a star out of Thomas for a moment. “We used to go to Europe with Marva. We had this festival in Switzerland, and there’s this poster all over the city with Scott’s picture on it, not any of the big shots. It was on the programs, T-Shirts, everything. We all got a kick out of it!”
Many musicians mentioned Thomas helping them out in many ways, including his efforts to swing gigs towards other players when they needed them. That’s how I got to know him; he used to let me sub for him with Marva Wright. I considered that a great compliment and source of encouragement, not only because I really enjoyed playing with Marva and her band, but I was honored that a guitarist of his caliber would allow me to play in his place. I always dug going to his house to listen to music and play guitar. He was one of those pros who never got tired of having an instrument in his hand. He was always working on something and very excited about it, particularly as he was developing his solo jazz guitar repertoire. Even though he was nearly 20 years my senior, going to his house always reminded me of the feeling of going to a friend’s place back in high school, when you could lose yourself in the love of music and guitars before it ever had anything to do with making a living or any kind of hassle. He never lost the pure joy of playing and sharing music.
“He had the most positive attitude of anyone I have ever known,” declared J. Monque’D, Thomas’ friend and musical associate of over 30 years. “He always had the idea that the best was yet to come.”
Scott Thomas passed away at his home on June 2, after suffering chest pains for several days following an accident. He was 55.
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