JOHN SCOFIELD

John Scofield is considered one of the "big three" of current jazz guitarists - along with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell. His influence began in the late 70’s and is going strong today. Possessor of a very distinctive sound and stylistic diversity, Scofield is a masterful jazz improviser whose music generally falls somewhere between post-bop, funk edged jazz, and R & B.

Born in Ohio and raised in suburban Connecticut, Scofield took up the guitar at age 11, inspired by both rock and blues players. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. After a debut recording with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, Scofield was a member of the Billy Cobham-George Duke band for two years. In 1977 he recorded with Charles Mingus, and joined the Gary Burton quartet. He began his international career as a bandleader and recording artist in 1978. From 1982-1985, Scofield toured and recorded with Miles Davis. His Davis stint placed him firmly in the foreground of jazz consciousness as a player and composer.

Since that time he has prominently led his own groups in the international Jazz scene, recorded over 30 albums as a leader (many already classics) including collaborations with contemporary favorites like Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Eddie Harris, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Bill Frisell, Brad Mehldau, Mavis Staples, Government Mule, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano and Phil Lesh. He’s played and recorded with Tony Williams, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Dave Holland, Terumasa Hino among many jazz legends. Throughout his career Scofield has punctuated his traditional jazz offerings with funk-oriented electric music. All along, the guitarist has kept an open musical mind.

Touring the world approximately 200 days per year with his own groups, he is an Adjunct Professor of Music at New York University, a husband and father of two.

This Meets That

Aside from being one of the principal innovators of modern jazz guitar, John Scofield is a creative artist of an even rarer sort: a stylistic chameleon who has forged a consistent, rock-solid aesthetic identity. An artist with fan bases in many camps and nearly three dozen albums to his credit, he has expressed himself in the vernacular of bebop, blues, jazz-funk, organ jazz, acoustic chamber jazz, electronically tinged groove music and orchestral ensembles with ease and enthusiasm. From early on, his versatility and technical mastery won him sideman gigs with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker and Cobham/Duke among many. Regardless of the stylistic setting, his distinct guitar sound and compositions are unmistakably Scofieldesque, always coupled with an improvisational excellence dedicated to the finest in jazz tradition.

Following celebrated runs on the Enja, Arista, Gramavision, Blue Note and Verve labels, Scofield is proud to release his first project for Emarcy, This Meets That. The album finds Scofield once again in the company of what he calls his "A-Team" - bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart — the trio that released En Route in 2004, Added to that, the four-part horn section of Roger Rosenberg on baritone sax and bass clarinet, Jim Pugh on trombone, Lawrence Feldman on tenor sax and flutes and John Swana on trumpet and flugelhorn. A special treat, one tune also features special guest Bill Frisell on tremolo guitar. The parts, arranged by Scofield himself, give the music a broader harmonic dimension. “When I compose a tune,” he explains, “I often hear more parts than I end up playing on the guitar, so on this record I added the horns. We still keep our "trio thing" intact, but the sound is extended and shaded. They embellish what we're doing.” 

Scofield’s music responds well to such extension, as heard on his remarkable 1996 acoustic album Quiet, and the more recent Scorched (“Scofield Orchestrated”), a 2003 collaboration with the British classical composer Mark-Anthony Turnage. This Meets That has a similar textural lushness, but also a raw and visceral impact thanks to his often biting guitar tone and the trio’s rhythmic energy. “All these tunes swing,” Scofield points out. “One may be funky, another may be country, but the swing element is important to all of them.”

Of course, swing requires finely honed rapport, and that’s where Swallow and Stewart come in. Before En Route, this rhythm section appeared on Quiet as well as I Can See Your House From Here, Scofield’s 1993 collaboration with Pat Metheny. Swallow produced several early Scofield titles and played in a previous Sco-led trio with drummer Adam Nussbaum — the band that recorded Shinola and Out Like a Light in the early 80's. “Steve has been a huge part of my development since I met him in 1973,” John says. “Now we’re aged contemporaries, but when it started, he was the established great and I was the kid.” As for Stewart: “From the first time I heard him I loved his snap crackle, you know? He usually takes the best solo of the night, in the most musical way. The three of us have an intimacy in our musical exchange that only exists after like-minded individuals play together for decades. It's really special for me.”

This Meets That features a brief appearance by another of Sco’s admired colleagues: fellow guitar innovator Bill Frisell. “We made two records as half of Bass Desires in the ’80s, and then I featured Bill on my 1991 album Grace Under Pressure,” Scofield elaborates. “Last winter, Bass Desires reformed for a tiny reunion tour of Europe, I found out that Bill was going to be in New York at the Vanguard months later while we were in the studio. We played ‘House of the Rising Sun’ on the gigs, and already had a good concept, so I asked him to come down and record it with us.”

This Meets That also includes a riotous version of “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. “That and ‘House of the Rising Sun’ are two of the first songs I ever learned on the guitar,” he recalled. “I took up the guitar at 11, and after perfecting Greensleeves and some other delicate folk faves, these tunes were really my start. Jazz came a few years later.” To this day, Scofield often phrases with a pronounced touch of rock and blues, no matter how advanced the harmonic context. His lyrical rendering of the ’70s Charlie Rich country hit “Behind Closed Doors” is further evidence of his omnivorous musical taste.

The originals on This Meets That are tunes that Scofield and company first performed as a trio, and they retain their loose and jazzy immediacy here. Swallow anchors and solos with customary brilliance, Scofield expands the sonic horizon with occasional guitar effects and sampling as Stewart shakes and stirs. The horns alternate mellow contrast with added punch.

On “The Low Road, we tune our low strings down to C sharp to add some extra low notes to our guitars.” Similarly, “Down D” makes use of drop-D tuning, starting with an abstract intro and easing into a calm midtempo feel. “Strangeness in the Night” is one of the more involved tracks — “two songs stuck together,” as Scofield puts it. “The first, slower mood is kind of dark and quirky. That’s the strangeness part.” “Heck of a Job,” a wry reference to the Katrina debacle, gets a New Orleans feel going; Scofield notes the “contrapuntal fugue-like idea” articulated by the horns in the coda. “Shoe Dog” and “Memorette” typify two contrasting sides of his compositional skill: the former a slow and skronky groove, the latter a mellow, sophisticated jazz piece in 6/4. Of the more experimental “Pretty Out,” Sco says: “It’s out, but hopefully it’s pretty. This is our free jazz tune. It worked really well with the horns — the trumpet doubles the melody the first time, and baritone sax the second time. Trio Blues” is exactly that — a hard-swinging blues, though not just for trio anymore when augmented by the horns. An alternate take of Trio Blues (without horns) will be made available as an iTunes exclusive. Yet another track (again horn-less), the burning midtempo “Better New Tune,” will appear on the Japanese release.

With This Meets That and his move to Emarcy, Scofield continues his creative and unpredictable journey as a contemporary jazz master. In the true spirit of collaboration, he regularly lends his talents to varied and illustrious projects. Recent examples include the Grammy nominated Saudades with Trio Beyond (Jack DeJohnette, Larry Goldings); Out Louder with Medeski, Martin & Wood. ScoLoHoFo with Joe Lovano, Dave Holland and Al Foster and Live at the Warfield with Phil Lesh and Friends.

Scofield also believes in supporting new talent, as is clear from the presence of fresh faces in his touring bands. “It’s the jazz way,” Scofield declares. “I started out so inspired by my elders, and I got to play with many of the guys I listened to on records, like Miles, Joe Henderson, Chick and Herbie, like Steve Swallow for that matter. Then you get to pass it on. That’s the way life works . . . in music, we really get to share and grow.”

That's What I Say

Here we are again -- the launching of a new project. This is my 33rd or 34th album, I think. That's What I Say - JS Plays the Music of Ray Charles hits stores on 07 June.

I know that some people may be wondering why I did this. Shortly after Ray's death, Ron Goldstein (Verve's Big Cheese) suggested that I consider an album in tribute to him. A tribute to Ray - not a tribute to Ron. I've got to admit that I'm rarely a fan of theme projects. Some of them work but most of them don't, As soon as I heard Ray Charles though, it resonated with me. This is music I've known since I first started to play the guitar. Ray's music was one of my inspirations: he was a super soul-music man, but he was also a jazz musician, too. I see him as the height of honest expression.

This is probably the most challenging record I've ever done because of the sheer scale of it - we had a million moving parts. It's different from all of my other recordings (primarily my original music) because these are other people's songs. It was inspiring too because the music itself was great to work with - it was easy to play them naturally. I felt a real affinity for the music though we never tried to copy Ray's versions. Plus we did our tracking in the week before Christmas. If you know Manhattan in December, it's the craziest time of the year to do anything there: fly in and out, fight gridlock, all potential disasters when you have a lot of people coming and going.

That's What I Say was an ideal opportunity to realize one of my own ambitions. I'd been thinking about doing something with singers and this gave me an excuse to approach some of my soul-music idols and perform with them. Steve Jordan is my co-conspirator in the whole thing. Jordan is in increasing demand as a Producer and classic rootsy R&B productions are his trademark. If I was going to do an R&B-ish kind of record, Steve was the guy I immediately thought of to play drums. Having him Produce as well was simply the right thing to do. Steve has remarkable musical taste, super studio savvy to get sounds and tireless perfectionism. He's also done a number of projects with big casts - so he wasn't thrown by this record. I think it was Steve's comfort level that kept the sessions smooth. It never got away from a relaxed and natural, friendly vibe. There was never a time when it wasn't FUN. This seems like a right place to say thanks to Engineer Joe Ferla too. Joe is incredible.

It was easy putting a core band together. Larry Goldings is my favorite keyboard collaborator. He's a jazz musician, but he can also play R&B organ and piano with super soul. We're a good blend that way. Jordan called up his pal Willie Weeks - the legendary, bass player- a man whose resume reads like a classic-soul textbook: from Hank Crawford to Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder to the Rolling Stones.

We made up a wish-list of guest vocalists and in many cases, the songs I had in mind dictated the choices. One of the great things about this record is the fact that we didn't have to overdub the singers. Everything is live in the studio - we did it all together at the same time. You never know how this concept will work out- but I couldn't be happier with the way this ended up. It was an organic experience for sure.

My first singer choice was Mac Rebbenack - the inimitable New Orleans singer-pianist Dr. John. Mac and I go way back and I'll take any opportunity to work with him. He had a really bad cold when he came into the studio and didn't even think he should try singing at first - but he did it effortlessly! "You Don't Know Me," for instance, cried out for the kind of soulful balladry that Aaron Neville does so well. Aaron braved frigid 8 degree high-for-the-day weather to be with us. People from New Orleans hate the cold and Aaron is no exception. Mavis Staples is my all-time soul diva favorite. I mentioned her name and Steve said, 'Oh, she's my buddy, I'll call her. She signed on, even went way out of her way to accommodate our schedule and I was like, "Wow, Christmas morning!" I'm laughing now - but it practically was Christmas morning by the time we finished tracking!

Warren Haynes (of Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule and Dead fame) and I have played together here and there over the last few years. He's one of the most soulful guitar players, and a great singer. He took time away from family holiday celebrations to fly up and track with us. I had one tune in mind but Warren wanted to do "Night Time Is the Right Time" and it was perfect for him. I'm there playing though a Leslie speaker going for an organ-like sound.

The guest most likely to raise eyebrows from my fan base is John Mayer - of hyper-successful pop singer-songwriter fame. I didn't know John, but knew his name. Steve worked with John on Herbie's new record and was also producing tracks on his next record. I was surprised but John said he wanted to participate on That's What I Say in some way. I got his records out, and I realized he was playing the hell out of the guitar. We do guitar trading on "I Don't Need No Doctor." I thought he would be good for that track, and he came in and totally nailed it! After we recorded, he said he's never sung like that on a record before.' He usually does a more breathy thing, and this was full voice. And he can do it really well! Really well!

I put David "Fathead" Newman him in the 'special guests' category with the singers. He spent over thirty years on the road with Charles. He's a voice for sure.

Tune selection was another matter. I listened to every Ray Charles tune on record. I listened and listened. And we could do a Volume Two tomorrow, but these were the songs I thought we could do something with...because we changed the music somewhat on almost everything. We weren't too reverential about it, because it would have been stupid to just copy his arrangements."

The album opens with "Busted," one of Ray's big hits. Its inclusion was literally an afterthought that Jordan suggested while sitting at the drums during a down time in the session. Willie Weeks was out of the room. Larry started to play it and then Steve and I jumped in. We ran it once, then recorded it. Larry played the bass line and we just jammed it on the spot. No rehearsal.

Steve and I planned "What'd I Say" as the centerpiece of the CD. I thought a salsa feel would be nice because Ray's original hinted at that. What better tune to have all of the guests sing a verse on? It's the tune that every 60's garage band played at dances. "What'd I Say" is one of the first tunes I learned to rock 'em with at the Seventh Grade Dance circa 1965.Steve got into the rhythm arrangement and brought in [percussionist] Manolo Badrena, and we multilayered his stuff with congas and timbales. Check out Isaac Hayes' cameo!

"Sticks and Stones" - we funkified it. We did more of a 'Ray Charles Live at Bonnaroo' kind of thing. You could say we 'Bonnarooed' it! 

"I Don't Need No Doctor," was one of several hits penned for Charles by the killer songwriting team of Valerie Simpson, Nick Ashford and Josephine Armstead. It's a song I knew from playing in bands in high school. It was definitely one of those tunes that everybody played. I came up with the little guitar thing that starts it, then just took the blues form and extended it, put it to a different groove. Mayer knew exactly what to do too- and we did it in one take. It was a special moment.

The Buck Owens country standard, "Cryin' Time," was a must. The first Ray Charles album I ever had was called Cryin' Time. It actually one of his great overlooked records; that one I wore out. I see it as a kind of an intro to "I Can't Stop Loving You," and that's the way we segued it on the record: The tune "Cryin' Time" is just me and Larry, with Larry playing the whole range of the Hammond organ. It's really great to hear the beautiful colors he gets out of it.

Mavis wanted to do "I Can't Stop Loving You" and whatever she wants to do is fine with me! I just took out my acoustic guitar and we found a key, and we just listened to her sing it. I got chills; we all did. Mavis is simply an amazing woman and singer - and one of the nicest people I've ever worked with.

"Hit the Road Jack" features David "Fathead" Newman. If ever there was a sound on the saxophone, it's this guy. I'd met him a couple of times over the years. I thought he would sound great blowing on this, and wrote a chart that took some liberties with the song, and then I wrote a horn arrangement. My childhood perception of "Hit The Road Jack" is that Ray Charles was singing about J.F.K.!!! I wanted to use the groove of the original to set up a jazz arrangement with horns, expanding on Ray's version. Dig Fathead!

"You Don't Know Me" and Aaron Neville. They were made for each other. When we found out that Aaron was available to do the project, I knew that this tune was perfect for him. He said he'd never sung it before. My version has a more standard jazz ballad treatment than Ray's. It was fun and an honor to get to trade riffs with Aaron. I think that Aaron's possibly the most instantly identifiable singer today - soul meets doo wop - he's a National Treasure.

"Talkin' Bout You" and "I Got a Woman" with Dr. John. I can't say enough about him. People call him 'greasy R&B,' but that music he's playing has a feel, a harmonic thing with the keyboard and a subtlety, and so did Ray's music. It's super-sophisticated music, whatever you call it. We start off with "Talkin' Bout You" just the two of us in the beginning, and then modulate into "I Got a Woman" with him singing and the full band. Fathead played an incredible solo.

"Unchain My Heart (Part 1)" kinda connects the dots between Charles's soulfulness and the funk masters who followed, such as James Brown. It's another bar-band staple, and this is another one I changed up a little bit. It's a tricky thing to get into, reharmonizing tunes. I didn't want them to sound intellectual. You don't want to mess with tradition too much-but you want to mess with it a little! We couldn't stop vamping at the end; it was Steve's idea to make it a classic 'Part 1' and 'Part 2,' which is what Ray did on "What'd I Say." (Here, the second part, naturally, gets the last word in.) If you leave it running - you'll find "Unchain (Part 2)" is a hidden track at the end.

"Let's Go Get Stoned," is another Valerie Simpson-penned hit. I thought that would be a good title for the album - Let Sco Get Stoned, but I realized my sponsor would be very upset. At one point, Steve and I considered asking Valerie to sing on the track, but my take on it went in a direction that isn't particularly singer-friendly!

"Georgia on My Mind" almost didn't make it on the record which would have been weird since it's Ray's signature tune. It's also part of the Great American Songbook, and one of the great jazz standards. And talk about a chord progression! That's was the one I wanted to play all by myself on the guitar, and closed the record with that.

And that's what I say...

John

Source: http://www.johnscofield.com/bio.html