Her father operated a jazz club in the basement of the family home and her brother played saxophone.

Influenced by gospel and blues, she played soul jazz in the 1960s with Stanley Turrentine, who became her husband during the same decade; the couple divorced in 1971.

Scott strategically chose to have a bassist in her recordings instead of a typical melodic instrument, to allow her full freedom in exploring the organ.

[8] Across her lifetime, she has led multiple small group line-ups showcasing her passion for music a Shirley Scott took an interest in the business and academia side of jazz, as she taught jazz history and piano at Cheyney University, Pennsylvania, also receiving a Bachelor of Art (B.A.)

[10] Shirley Scott was married to Davis for a number of years contributing to significant collaborations in music (cite).

After her fallout with Davis in 1960, she remarried with the well-known saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, whom she met on a gig in Panama .

Scott’s playing demonstrated a combination of highly rhythmic bebop harmonies and lyrical touch to the B-3 sounds.

In her later albums under the Cadet label, including Mystical Lady (1971), Lean on Me (1972), and Superstition (1973) she explored different rhythms and applied funky jazz to pop and R&B tracks.

Scott’s style expresses her versatility as a musician and ability to challenge the status quo of jazz music.

[12] Scott won an $8 million settlement in 2000 against American Home Products, the manufacturers of the diet drug fen-phen.

In a mostly-male dominated industry Scott wasn’t afraid to experiment with the instrument and helped bring a new sense of appreciation of the organ to the jazz world.