"John Scofield: It's Magic" by Mike Zwerin

 © Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

The late Paris-based jazz musician and International Herald Tribune writer Mike Zwerin posted a 41-week series entitled Sons of Miles to Culturekiosque Jazznet. In this series, Zwerin looks back at Miles Davis and the leading jazz musicians he influenced in a series of interviews and personal reminiscences. Here is the John Scofield piece in that series. It was published on September 3, 1998 so add 20+ years to any math in the article.

“John Scofield picked up a guitar in 1962 at the age of 11; it was a role waiting to be filled.

Playing electric guitar was about to become a major macho pose, like throwing a touchdown pass or hitting a home run. It was something little boys mimed in the air without a prop. "Look at me, ma, I'm Jimi Hendrix." It proved how masculine you were, that you could distort and feed back and if your father made enough money you could destroy a guitar or two. Burn it. Guitar players took names like Slash.

It was also more than a pose. The guitar would soon overtake the saxophone as the major instrumental voice of our times. Guitar heroes were coming of age, coming out of the woodwork thanks to Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and on and on. To say nothing of Elvis. It was the pose of coming of age. Like firing a Kalashnikov.

Except for Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, with Jim Hall and Jimmy Raney on the sidelines, the jazz guitar was still just part of the rhythm section. In the classics, Segovia was something of a curiosity. If you didn't play rock, forget it. You were a 90 pound weakling.

The young Scofield was knocked out by early Beatles and Ricky Nelson. He watched Peter, Paul and Mary and the Kingston Trio on television and plugged into the folk phase. There were no teachers in tiny Wilton, Connecticut, where he was growing up, so he taught himself. He listened to Delta blues, the so-called "hippy jazz" of Charles Lloyd and early fusion guitarist Larry Coryell. He played with rhythm and blues bands in high school.

At the turn of the decade, Sco's quartet performed for a packed house in the New Morning in Paris after 40 one-nighters in 15 countries in 44 days. At the same time he celebrated - paraphrasing Ronald Reagan - the 10th anniversary of his 29th birthday. It was a good time to take stock.

John Scofield has become arguably the most influential jazz guitarist. Better known, a bigger draw, the guitar megastar Pat Metheny still told me that as far as he's concerned "Sco is the main man." Metheny's main man is a...MAN!

Scofield learned to be at home with difficult articulation in non-guitar key signatures. Expanding Johnny Smith's sweet monotony, he combined John Coltrane's harmonic advances with the textural innovations of Jimi Hendrix.

Not the least of it, he had also learned how to play 40 concerts in 44 days without drugs (he even stopped smoking cigarettes). There's a lot of strength under the surface of this good-natured, soft spoken family man with the high forehead and ready smile. He makes it sound simple:

"Psyching yourself up with dope is dumb. I did that long enough. It doesn't work. Your timing has to be perfect. You want to get a little numb, but not so numb that the music stops flowing out of you. You're always tuning yourself. It's too much work, you find that you think about nothing else and it screws up your body too. It's not practical and you pay too much. So now I just try and keep cool."

If you get stoned too early you come down too fast - too late and it doesn't hit in time. Cool is the operative word here.

Graduating from Boston's Berklee College of Music in the early '70s, he played with Chet Baker, Gary Burton and Charles Mingus; with McCoy Tyner and Dr. John. He was basically a bebopper, "something of a purist." But then Miles Davis "turned me around, said I was bluesy and got me into wah-wah pedals, back-beats and heavy electronics."

His reputation took a quantum leap in the early '80s when he became a collaborator more than a sideman for three years with Davis, who admitted to building tunes from Scofield's improvisations. Rather than feeling ripped off, Sco was flattered.

After he left the band, however, the trumpeter began to bad-mouth the guitarist in the press. He said, in effect, the Sco was too cool; he said he played behind the beat. He said it and said it and said it - though implying it was not really Sco's fault, poor boy. He's white.”

John Scofield - COMBO 66!

© -  Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

Multiple Grammy Award Winning Jazz Guitarist John Scofield Returns with New Album: Combo 66! - Released on Verve Records on September 28th

We received the following from Crossover Media and thought we’d share it with you. John has always been one of my favorite, especially when Bill Stewart is in the drum chair, and we are curious to hear Gerald Clayton as the latest member of John’s group on keyboards as he has always knocked me out on piano with the Clayton Brothers band.

A YouTube track from the recording is featured at the end of the text.

“Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist, band leader and composer, John Scofield is set to release his new album, Combo 66, marking his 66th birthday, on September 28 via Verve Records. The album, which features long-time drummer Bill Stewart, bassist Vincente Archer and pianist/organist Gerald Clayton, combines jazz with genre-defying elements, allowing Scofield to find new modes of expression.

Scofield has been on a serious roll since 2015, when his release, Past Present, earned a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. He followed the release with the 2016 album Country For Old Men, which earned him two Grammy Awards for both "Best Jazz Instrumental Album" and "Best Improvised Jazz Solo ("I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry")."

In 2017 Scofield joined forces with old pals Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier and John Medeski for the rural New York jazz band of the ages, Hudson, the quartet romping the world from Boise to Berlin and back again.

John Scofield keeps his talent and his trusty Ibanez AS200 guitar burning brightly on Combo 66, which finds the New York native with a new quartet and fresh compositions in celebration of his 66th birthday.

"I wrote all new tunes for this record, Combo 66," Scofield notes from the road. "I called it that because I'm 66! And 66 is the coolest jazz number you can get because if you hit 66 you're doing ok. Remember all the great records from the 60s? Brasil 66. 'Route 66.' It hit me that it would be poetic to use that title."

Born of searing groove, soul-touching melody, and kinetic improvisation, Combo 66 swings effortlessly to the condor-like rhythms of drummer Bill Stewart, Scofield's percussionist since 1992s What We Do. Scofield chose upright bassist Vincente Archer of Robert Glasper's Trio when it came to bass rhapsodies and called upon 34-year-old organist/pianist Gerald Clayton, son of bassist John Clayton of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra for keys.

"Guitar and keyboard is not always the easiest match," Scofield says. "Because of its percussive nature, piano is very similar to the guitar. But Gerald has a beautiful touch and though he is quite modern, his touch reminds me of Hank Jones or Tommy Flanagan. And that really is a beautiful legato sound that works well with guitar. Even though he's got super roots in traditional jazz, he can do everything. I'm just thrilled to play with Gerald."

The album begins with a track called "Can't Dance" - we're not talking the Sinatra standard, but a late afternoon swinger imbued with a sense of urban danger. "It just has this kind of groove quality and since I can't dance, really, I thought I would dedicate it to myself," Scofield laughs.

"Combo Theme" recalls the spooky grandeur of a great Henry Mancini soundtrack melody, balanced by Scofield's wry guitar solo, the equivalent of a Hollywood noir thriller, while the track "Icons at the Fair" plays on chords and progressions of Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis.

"We really got some heat happening on this one," Scofield says of "Icons at the Fair." "Years ago, I did a record and a tour with Herbie Hancock, for his album, The New Standard. He had this arrangement of 'Scarborough Fair' and I really liked the chords. I used those chords and then wrote a melody which was reminiscent of a lick that Miles [Davis] used to play. So, between Herbie and Miles and Paul Simon's 'Scarborough Fair' I called this 'Icons at the Fair."

The conversational "Willa Jean" was titled for Scofield's granddaughter, followed by "Uncle Southern," a light-stepping ¾ dance which touches on his mother's Southern roots. "Dang Swing" is a swing tune with a bit country: a dab of the devil's music and "New Waltzo," melds waltz with rock.

Something he almost never does, "I'm Sleepin' In" is a ballad - a calming yet slightly mysterious number titled, as is most every track on Combo 66, by Scofield's wife, Susan Scofield.

"It's quiet and pensive, and I hope, sensitive," Scofield explains. "Susan's title seemed to reflect the feeling of the song. What's more sensitive than a human being when they're asleep?"

Combo 66 closes with the track "King of Belgium," dedicated to Belgian harmonica maestro, Toots Thielemans, a man of great humanity, and purportedly, a great sense of humor.

"If you can't have fun with the music, let's go home," Scofield says, alluding to his working credo. "I am so deadly serious about jazz, but the fact of the matter is jazz only works if you are relaxed and don't give a shit. If you try too hard it doesn't work. Humor really helps me to get to a better place with music."”

John Scofield: Past Present

© -  Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“John Scofield. "Filibuster" (from Electric Outlet, Gramavision). Scofield, guitars, DMX bass; Steve Jordan, drums; David Sanborn, alto saxophone.

That's John Scofield, right? It's his tone, and the way he's been writing lately with Miles. Like the layman's ear, I tend to get lost when people start playing too much noodle-roni, or too much improvisation without theme. But his playing lately has gotten infinitely more thematic and more melodic, and to me it's great because it keeps my attention much more closely. It's that old saying, "It's more fun to improvise than it is to listen to it," and that's a fact, unless you're close to that other galaxy of Charlie Parker and Trane and people like that. But I think the song is really positive, and it's a really good groove. Four stars. That's David Sanborn, right?

 - Carlos Santana, guitarist and bandleader, Downbeat “Blindfold Test” - August 1985

“Scofield, John (b Dayton, OH, 26 Dec 1951). Electric guitarist. He became attracted to rhythm-and-blues, urban blues, and rock-and-roll at an early age, particularly the playing of the guitarists B. B. King, Albert King, and Chuck Berry…. his display his blend of blues and country styles with the harmonic sophistication of bop.” 

- Bill Milkowski, in Barry Kernfeld [ed.]The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz

“Seen by many as the quintessential, most widely read and flexible contemporary Jazz guitarist. … His playing is an intriguing mix of a classic, open-toned bop style and a blues-rock affiliation. … His six Gramavision albums are a coherent and highly enjoyable body of work on which his playing assumes a new authority; tones are richer, the hint of fuzz and sustain is perfectly integrated and his solos are unflaggingly inventine. … Scofield’s transfer to Blue Note moved his career and his music substantially forward where he released a number of strong and thoroughly realized recordings that featured his consistent strength as a writer: variations on the blues, slow modal ballads, riffs worked into melodies. … The guitarist is always finding new ways to walk over old paths.”

- Richard Cook and Brian Morton, The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 6th Ed.

“John Scofield's rugged, rawboned sound fits his trademark blend of hard bop, fusion, electric blues, and the rock music he grew up on in the 1960s; but his gift for intrepid, sharply chiseled improvisations has made him a favorite of jazz purists as well as fusioneers through such albums as Meant to Be and Hand Jive (his collaboration with Eddie Harris), both on Blue Note.”

- Neil Tesser, The Electric Guitar and the Vibraphone in Jazz, in Bill Kirchner [ed.], The Oxford Companion to Jazz

“John Scofield, a young guitarist with romantic leanings and an inclination toward relaxed, understated swing in his melodic lines ... is one of the few younger guitarists who seems to be exploring the style of Jim Hall, possibly because he is one of the few temperamentally and technically equipped to do so.”

- Doug Ramsey, Jazz Matters: Reflections on the Music and Some of its Makers

Every time I listen to the music of John Scofield, I wonder why I don’t spend more time with it?

John’s innovative pairing of instruments in forming his groups and his imaginative approach to Jazz guitar nearly always moves my ears in new directions while generating a satisfying listening experience.

Above all, John is a storyteller, with a good sense of pace and timing, relishes a tight, in-the-pocket groove and even displays occasional splashes of humor to keep things interesting.

Our most recent visit with with Sco’s music was prompted by a preview copy of John’s latest CD and was prompted by a preview copy of his latest Impulse! CD - Past Present.

Max Horowitz at Crossover Media was kind enough to send along the following press release and, since I couldn’t improve upon it, I thought I’d share it with you “as is.” Remember, you can always go on www.crossovermedia.net and click on the artist search in the upper right hand corner for more information about the artists they are working with and to listen to samples of music from their latest recordings.

“On Past and Present, John Scofield updates his early-’90s quartet with drummer Bill Stewart and saxophonist Joe Lovano by recruiting bassist Larry Grenadier for his fetching, appropriately titled impulse! debut, Past Present. Between 1990 and 1992, the celebrated guitarist released three well-received discs – Meant to Be, Time on My Hands and What We Do – for the Blue Note label as the John Scofield Quartet. On those records, either Marc Johnson or Dennis Irwin played bass. Nevertheless, Grenadier also has history playing with Scofield; he toured with Scofield in support of the 1996 disc, Quiet.

The nine exciting tunes Scofield penned on Past Present also reflects his philosophy on playing jazz music. He stresses the importance of being knowledgeable of the music’s deep, complex roots while simultaneously being spontaneous and in the moment while performing it. For an artist with such a multifaceted discography as Scofield’s, getting to the root of jazz means channeling the blues, as demonstrated on the disc’s closing, titled-track.

Buoyed by Grenadier’s ebullient, recurring bass line and Stewart’s delicate swing, Scofield describes “Past Present” as “futuristic blues,” on which he and Lovano craft unison melodies before the two separate then intertwine invigorating improvisations.  In Scofield’s estimation, “Past Present” sums up the whole disc.

In addition to Scofield’s meditation on a William Faulkner quote: “the past is never dead. It’s not even past,” – from the 1951 book Requiem for a Nun – the disc’s title gains even more poignancy and thematic heft from Scofield’s enduring love for his son, Evan, who passed away in 2013 after a battle with cancer. “There are people in the past who are really still alive for us – like my son, Evan,” Scofield says. “He’s in the past but he’s still with me right now.”

Scofield emphasizes that point on three tunes that touch upon Evan’s legacy. Two songs – “Get Proud” and “Enjoy the Future!” – are titled after some of Evan’s catchphrases. The former is a strutting, bluesy number, steered by Stewart’s implied boogaloo shuffle, on which Scofield’s rough-hewn guitar lines and comping mesh with Lovano’s brawny tenor saxophone passages. Like the title suggests, the latter tune evokes a bright optimism as Scofield and Lovano develop billowing melodic lines that swirl around each other while the rhythm section powers them with a snazzy, pneumatic swing.

Evan’s spirit also informs the introspective, mid-tempo ballad, “Mr. Puffy,” which was a nickname Scofield gave him to help lift his spirits when he was undergoing chemotherapy. The quartet hints at the physical transformative effects the chemotherapy had on Evan by John Scofield Press Release and Bio having the song’s breezy A section progress into a more bristling B section.

Scofield’s love for R&B and blues tends to inform all of his discs regarding of idiomatic styling. After all, his first guitar hero was the legendary B.B. King, who strummed very vocal-like single-note melodies. Singable melodies and infectious rhythms shine on the soul-jazz opener, “Slinky,” on which the guitar tickles an instantly catchy riff before Stewart underscores it with a supple 5/4 groove that suggests New Orleans’ second-line rhythm. Grenadier propels the momentum with a loping blues bass line while Scofield and Lovano trade soulful licks and tasty solos.

Past Present also highlights Scofield’s love for country music on the whimsical “Chap Dance,” which evokes both the wide-eyed Americana compositions of Aaron Copeland and the hoedown sophistication of Ornette Coleman’s harmolodics. Scofield says that the song’s exuberant opening melody and spry rhythmic pulse remind him of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s 1943 Broadway musical, Oklahoma!, particularly the scenes with the cowboys dancing in chaps and vests.

In spite of its suggestive title, “Hangover” is lyrical waltz on which Scofield and Lovano weave comely melodies atop of the rhythm section’s gentle thrust. Originally written with lyrics penned by Scofield’s wife, Susan, the song’s theme actually deals with romance rather substance abuse.

Scofield originally penned the sanguine melody of “Museum” for promotional use by a hometown museum where Scofield curated a successful music series for seven years.  The guitarist liked the melody so much that he developed it into an intricate jazz excursion that contains a tricky in-between rhythm that Scofield argues could not have been well realized by any other rhythm section.

The intriguing “Season Creep” is yet another blues – this time dedicated to climate change. Scofield composed the slow, shuffling ditty in February 2013 when he noticed warm, spring-like temperatures were slowing creeping into a month, commonly noted for being freezing.

As Scofield continues to solidify his reputation as one of modern jazz’s most dynamic guitarists, history will reveal Past Present as an integral chapter in his expansive discography – one that reflects him being more reverential than referential to his personal and professional past while remaining fresh and ever-present.

It’s been 40 years of professional recording underneath his belt, John Scofield is one of the most distinctive and versatile modern jazz guitarists; his capacity to play in fusion, funk, blues, bebop, country, drum-n-bass, avant-garde and pop settings while retaining his distinctive voice is peerless. In addition to leading numerous ensembles and recording more than three dozen albums as a leader, Scofield has played with a “who’s who” of jazz greats that include Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, George Duke, Joe Henderson, Billy Cobham and Herbie Hancock, among others. In 1998, the Montreal International Jazz Festival gave Scofield its prestigious “Miles Davis Award.” John Scofield was also awarded Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.

Track Listing

1. Slinky   7:09
2. Chap Dance 5:18
3. Hangover 6:33
4. Museum 5:02
5. Season Creep 4:34
6. Get Proud 5:18
7. Enjoy The Future! 5:21
8. Mr. Puffy 5:00
9. Past Present 6:01

Bonus Tracks Available On Request

10. 1. Weird Hands 5:30
11. 2. Pedals Out 5:16

All songs written by John Scofield

John Scofield (guitar); Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone); Larry Grenadier (double bass); Bill Stewart (drums). Recorded on March 16 and 17, 2015 at The Carriage House Studios, Stamford, Connecticut.