Jazz clarinetist, arranger and composer Tony Scott died in Rome on March 28th, at the age of 85, reports the Associated Press.

Scott was born Anthony Sciacca in New Jersey in 1921, and studied music at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City during World War Two. In his heyday in the 1940s and '50s, he worked with many jazz greats, including Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Charlie Parker.

Scott spent time in Asia studying Eastern religions including Buddhism, and was interested in integrating folk music and Eastern influences into his music. He became a figure in New Age music circles, and in later years was more popular overseas than in the U.S., where be-bop had become more popular than his own style of cool jazz.

Scott eventually settled in Rome, and he remained active as a performer into his eighties. He was interested in electronica music in recent years, and hip-hop DJ King Britt remixed his "Hare Krishna" in 2002 for the album Verve Remixed.

Scott took up painting later in life, and also wrote an autobiography, Bird, Lady and Me.

On his extensive website www.tonyscott.it, he is quoted as saying, "I decided a long time ago I would rather be a jazz musician than rich and famous. I had the chance to sell out, but I didn't. I've never regretted that."


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