Jimmy Scott is the most overlooked ballad singer in jazz, a veteran whose comeback from hard times inspires as much as his voice. With two Jazz Fest shows scheduled, he comes to New Orleans for the first time since recording a live album here in 1951.

Jimmy Scott makes me want to slit my wrists. And I mean that in the nicest way. Rarely has a voice been able to capture such longing and loss so deliciously. But unlike, say, Billie Holiday or Chet Baker, Scott always...