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Best known for his impossibly high singing voice, enigmatic jazz legend Jimmy Scott has been called "the most unjustly ignored American singer of the 20th century." "Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew" is a personal and meditative portrait of Scott, his odyssey of loss and redemption, and the most intimate document of Scott's life to date. Born one of ten children in 1925, Scott's early years were filled with devastating hardships. As a teenager, Scott was diagnosed with Kallmann's Syndrome, a hereditary condition which kept his body - and signature voice -- from developing beyond boyhood. At the age of 13, an event occurred which forever changed Scott's life. Scott's mother, the children's' sole guardian, was killed in a tragic accident. Scott and his nine siblings were separated and sent to foster homes.
Scott's loss of his mother and consequent loss of family provides the theme around which "If You Only Knew" centers. Rare archival photos, moving concert footage, and extensive interviews intertwine to create a document of Scott's lifelong attempt to reunite his family and to find closure through his art. First time feature documentarian Matthew Buzzell has created a piece which, stylistically and thematically, complements and mirrors Scott's life and work beautifully. "If You Only Knew", like Scott's music, is moody, melancholy, and heartbreakingly bittersweet.
"If You Only Knew" will air on PBS on the Independent Lens Series.
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