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John Scofield (born December 26, 1951)[2] is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock.[1] He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he has toured and recorded with many prominent jazz artists including saxophonists Eddie Harris, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, and Joe Lovano; keyboardists George Duke, Joey DeFrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Larry Goldings, and Robert Glasper; fellow guitarists Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Pat Martino, and Bill Frisell; bassists Marc Johnson and Jaco Pastorius; and drummers Billy Cobham and Dennis Chambers. Outside the world of jazz, he has collaborated with Phil Lesh, Mavis Staples, John Mayer, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Gov't Mule.[3]
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John Scofield | |
|---|---|
 Scofield at the Moers Festival in 2021 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | December 26, 1951 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, jazz fusion, acid jazz[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | Enja, Gramavision, Blue Note, Verve, EmArcy ECM |
| Website | www |
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John Scofield was born in Dayton, Ohio; his family moved to Wilton, Connecticut, where he discovered his interest in music.[4] Educated at the Berklee College of Music, Scofield left school to record with Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan. He joined the Billy Cobham/George Duke Band soon afterwards and played, recorded, and toured with them for two years. He recorded with Charles Mingus in 1976 and replaced Pat Metheny in Gary Burton's quartet.[5]
In 1976, Scofield signed with Enja, which released his first album, John Scofield, in 1977. He recorded with pianist Hal Galper on Rough House in 1978 and then on Galper's album Ivory Forest (1980), where he played a solo rendition of "Monk's Mood" by Thelonious Monk.[6] In 1979 he formed a trio with his mentor Steve Swallow and Adam Nussbaum which, with drummer Bill Stewart replacing Nussbaum, became the signature group of Scofield's career.[7]
In 1982, he joined Miles Davis, with whom he remained for three and a half years. He contributed tunes and guitar to three of Davis's albums, Star People, Decoy, and You're Under Arrest.[8] After he left Davis, he released Electric Outlet (1984) and Still Warm (1985)
He began what is referred to as his Blue Matter Band, with Dennis Chambers on drums, Gary Grainger on bass, and Mitchel Forman, Robert Aries, or Jim Beard on keyboards. The band released the albums Blue Matter, Loud Jazz and Pick Hits Live. Marc Johnson formed Bass Desires with Peter Erskine, Bill Frisell, and Scofield. This "most auspicious [pairing] since John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana"[9] recorded two albums, Bass Desires (1986) and Second Sight (1987).
At the beginning of the 1990s, Scofield formed a quartet which included Joe Lovano with whom he recorded several albums for Blue Note.[10] Time on My Hands (1990), with Joe Lovano, Charlie Haden, and Jack DeJohnette, showcased Scofield's guitar and Mingus-influenced (Charles Mingus)[citation needed] writing. Bill Stewart became the group's drummer and played on Meant to Be (1991) and What We Do (1993). In 1992, Scofield released Grace Under Pressure, featuring guitarist Bill Frisell, with Charlie Haden on bass and Joey Baron on drums. Stewart rejoined Scofield and Steve Swallow for I Can See Your House from Here, a collaboration with Pat Metheny.
Near the end of the time he played with Blue Note, Scofield returned to a sound which included more funk and soul jazz.[citation needed] In 1994 and 1995, he formed a group with organist/pianist Larry Goldings, bassist Dennis Irwin, and alternating drummers, Bill Stewart and Idris Muhammad. The group toured extensively, and the albums Hand Jive and Groove Elation feature this funk/groove/soul-jazz dimension in Scofield's music with tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris, percussionist Don Alias, and trumpeter Randy Brecker. He recorded the 1997 album A Go Go with avant-garde jazz trio Medeski, Martin & Wood.
Also during that time he began to work with British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage. He appeared as a soloist on Turnage's Blood on the Floor: Elegy for Andy. They collaborated on Scorched, an album of Turnage's orchestrations of Scofield's compositions, largely from the Blue Matter period. John Patitucci and Peter Erskine performed at the live premiere of Scorched at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt in September 2002 with the Radio-Symphony-Orchestra Frankfurt and the hr-Bigband. The performance was recorded and released by Deutsche Grammophon.[11]
Scofield released Überjam in 2002 and Up All Night in 2003, two albums on which he experimented with drum and bass. He recorded in Europe with the Bugge Wesseltoft New Conception of Jazz in 2001–2002 and 2006. In 2004 EnRoute: John Scofield Trio LIVE was released with Steve Swallow on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. It was recorded live at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City in December 2003. That was followed the next year by That's What I Say: John Scofield Plays the Music of Ray Charles which led to performances with Mavis Staples, Gary Versace on organ, John Benitez on bass, and Steve Hass on drums. After sitting in for two engagements in December 2005 with Phil Lesh and Friends, Scofield has played numerous shows with the band.
On September 26, 2006, he released Out Louder, his second collaboration with Medeski, Martin & Wood.[12] The group, known collectively as MSMW, toured worldwide in 2006 and 2007. Scofield performed in a duo with John Medeski named The Johns and in a trio with Medeski and drummer Adam Deitch (Deitch is also a producer). He recorded music inspired by gospel on the 2009 album Piety Street with Jon Cleary and George Porter Jr.
On September 18, 2007, EmArcy released This Meets That, an album recorded with Steve Swallow, Bill Stewart, and a horn trio. In 2011 EmArcy released A Moment's Peace, recorded with pianist Larry Goldings, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Brian Blade. Scofield's 2010 album 54 had its origin in the 1990s when Vince Mendoza asked him to play on Mendoza's first album. As director of the Metropole Orchestra, Mendoza collaborated with Scofield on arrangements of Scofield's compositions that were performed by the orchestra.
Scofield has been an adjunct faculty member in the Jazz Department in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University.[13] Inside Scofield, a film by Joerg Steineck, a feature-length documentary about Scofield, was released in 2022.[14][15]
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Scofield's first electric guitar was a Hagstrom; his "workhorse" is an Ibanez AS200 from 1982.[16] He endorses Ibanez and the company has a line of semi-hollow bodied guitars named for him.[17] Steve Vai uses one on the road, for one of the songs from Inviolate.[18]
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- 1997: Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee
- 1998: Miles Davis Award, Montreal International Jazz Festival
- 2002: Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album: Überjam[19]
- 2004: Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album: Scorched, and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for "Wee"[19]
- 2006: Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group: Trio Beyond – Saudades[19]
- 2010: Grammy nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: 54 featured with Metropole Orkest conducted by Vince Mendoza[19]
- 2010: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, French Ministry of Culture[20]
- 2016: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Past Present, and nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo: "Past Present"
- 2017: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Country for Old Men
- 2017: Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo: "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"
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As leader and co-leader
| Date | Album title | Line-up | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | John Scofield Live | Quartet | Enja | Live recording from Munich |
| 1978 | John Scofield | Trio plus Terumasa Hino on two tracks | Trio (Jp) | Recorded in Tokyo; Re-released as East Meets West on Black Hawk in 1987 |
| 1978 | Rough House | Quartet as John Scofield Quartet | Enja | |
| 1979 | Who's Who? | Quintet and two quartet tracks | Arista Novus | Re-released 1990 with the four originals from Bar Talk as bonus tracks |
| 1980 | Bar Talk | Trio w/ Steve Swallow and Adam Nussbaum | Arista Novus | |
| 1981 | Shinola | Trio w/ Swallow and Nussbaum | Enja | Live recording from Munich |
| 1981 | Out Like a Light | Trio w/ Swallow and Nussbaum | Enja | Live recording, third day from the same concert venue as Shinola |
| 1984 | Electric Outlet | Quintet w/ David Sanborn and Ray Anderson | Gramavision | Scofield plays also bass and DMX drum machine |
| 1984 | Solar | with John Abercrombie, duos and three quartet tracks | Palo Alto | |
| 1985 | Still Warm | Quartet | Gramavision | |
| 1986 | Blue Matter | Quintet and sextet, first w/ Gary Grainger and Dennis Chambers | Gramavision | |
| 1987 | Loud Jazz | Quintet | Gramavision | |
| 1987 | Pick Hits Live | Quartet | Gramavision | Live recording |
| 1989 | Flat Out | Quintet | Gramavision | |
| 1990 | Time on My Hands | Quartet w/ Joe Lovano | Blue Note | Acoustic jazz supergroup featuring Charlie Haden and Jack DeJohnette. |
| 1991 | Meant to Be | Quartet w/ Joe Lovano, Marc Johnson, and Bill Stewart | Blue Note | First Scofield record to feature drummer Bill Stewart. |
| 1992 | Grace Under Pressure | Quartet w/ Bill Frisell plus horn section on half of the tracks | Blue Note | Frisell and Scofield had previously partnered in Marc Johnson's Bass Desires. |
| 1993 | What We Do | Quartet w/ Joe Lovano, Dennis Irwin, and Bill Stewart | Blue Note | |
| 1994 | Hand Jive | Sextet | Blue Note | Soul jazz session featuring saxophonist Eddie Harris two years before Harris's death. |
| 1994 | I Can See Your House from Here | with Pat Metheny, quartet | Blue Note | |
| 1995 | Groove Elation | Quartet plus horn section and percussion | Blue Note | Soul jazz session featuring the New Orleans style drumming of Idris Muhammad and organ by Larry Goldings . |
| 1996 | Quiet | Trio plus horn section, feat. Wayne Shorter on three tracks | Verve | Scofield plays exclusively acoustic guitar, focus on arrangements, some light jazz waltzing and bossa nova, appropriate title |
| 1998 | A Go Go | with Medeski Martin & Wood | Verve | First collaboration with avant-jazz-funk organ trio |
| 1999 | Old Folks | with Kenny Garrett, Michael Brecker and David Friesen | West Wind | Conceptual compilation of equally dealt four leaders |
| 2000 | Bump | Duo to quintet in altering constellations | Verve | Scofield plays acoustic guitar on some tracks and adds more sound effects, opens further up to (slightly) younger musicians like Tony Scherr, Kenny Wollesen and Mark De Gli Antoni introducing electronica |
| 2001 | Works for Me | Quintet w/ Kenny Garrett and Brad Mehldau | Verve | Contemporary post-bop line-up and repertoire |
| 2002 | Überjam | Überjam quartet up to sextet as The John Scofield Band | Verve | New band, first time with Avi Bortnick and Adam Deitch plus John Medeski, even more effects, reaching into dub reggae, jungle grooves, rap and samples |
| 2003 | Oh! | as ScoLoHoFo w/ Joe Lovano, Dave Holland and Al Foster | Blue Note | Acoustic jazz quartet |
| 2003 | Up All Night | Überjam quartet plus horns as The John Scofield Band | Verve | Überjam band with Andy Hess, bass guitar. |
| 2004 | Scorched | with Mark-Anthony Turnage | Deutsche Grammophon | |
| 2004 | John Scofield Trio LIVE EnRoute | Trio w/ Swallow and Bill Stewart | Verve | Live recording |
| 2005 | That's What I Say: John Scofield Plays the Music of Ray Charles | Verve | ||
| 2006 | Saudades | as Trio Beyond w/ Larry Goldings and Jack DeJohnette | ECM | one-time Tony Williams tribute band |
| 2006 | Out Louder | as Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood | Indirecto | First recording of Medeski, Scofield Martin & Wood partnership with co-equal contributions from Scofield and Medeski Martin & Wood |
| 2007 | This Meets That | Trio w/ Swallow and Bill Stewart plus horn section | EmArcy | |
| 2009 | Piety Street | Quartet feat. vocals | EmArcy | |
| 2011 | A Moment's Peace | Quartet | EmArcy | |
| 2011 | MSMW Live: In Case the World Changes Its Mind | as Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood | EmArcy | Live recording |
| 2013 | Überjam Deux | Überjam | EmArcy | Follow-up to Überjam from 2002 and Up All Night |
| 2014 | Juice | as Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood | Indirecto | |
| 2015 | Past Present | Quartet w/ Joe Lovano, Larry Grenadier and Bill Stewart | Impulse! | |
| 2016 | Country for Old Men | Quartet w/ Larry Goldings, Steve Swallow and Bill Stewart | Impulse! | |
| 2017 | Hudson | Quartet w/ Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier and John Medeski | Motéma | |
| 2018 | Combo 66 | Quartet w/ Gerald Clayton, Bill Stewart and Vicente Archer | Verve | |
| 2020 | Swallow Tales | Trio w/ Steve Swallow and Bill Stewart | ECM | |
| 2022 | John Scofield | Solo | ECM | |
| 2023 | Uncle John's Band | Trio w Vicente Archer and Bill Stewart | ECM |
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Compilations
- Slo Sco: The Best of the Ballads (Gramavision, 1990)
- Liquid Fire: The Best of John Scofield (Gramavision, 1994)
- Best of John Scofield (Blue Note, 1996)
- Steady Groovin': The Blue Note Groove Sides (Blue Note, 2000)
- Sco-Mule (Evil Teen Records, 2015)
As a sideman
Albums listed by year of release. (Links to artists and labels on first appearance.)
| Date | Artist | Album title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Gary Marks | Gathering | Arewea | |
| 1974 | Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker | Carnegie Hall Concert | CTI | |
| 1975 | Billy Cobham | A Funky Thide of Sings | Atlantic | |
| 1976 | Billy Cobham | Life & Times | Atlantic | |
| 1976 | Billy Cobham & George Duke | Live on Tour in Europe | Atlantic | |
| 1977 | Chet Baker | You Can't Go Home Again | Horizon | |
| 1977 | Charles Mingus | Three or Four Shades of Blues | Atlantic | |
| 1977 | Jeremy Steig | Firefly | CTI | |
| 1977 | Urbie Green | Señor Blues | CTI | |
| 1977 | Terumasa Hino | May Dance | Flying Disk | |
| 1977 | Chet Baker | The Best Thing for You | A&M | |
| 1978 | Billy Cobham | Inner Conflicts | Atlantic | Scofield on two tracks |
| 1978 | Jay McShann | The Last of the Blue Devils | Atlantic | |
| 1978 | Miroslav Vitous | Guardian Angels | Trio (Japan) | |
| 1979 | Dave Liebman | Doin' It Again | Timeless | |
| 1979 | Jim McNeely | The Plot Thickens | Muse | |
| 1979 | Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen | Dancing on the Tables | SteepleChase | |
| 1979 | Jay McShann | The Big Apple Bash | Atlantic | |
| 1979 | Zbigniew Seifert | Passion | Capitol | |
| 1979 | Martial Solal, Lee Konitz, John Scofield, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen | Four Keys | MPS | |
| 1979 | Jack Walrath | Demons in Pursuit | Gatemouth | |
| 1979 | Larry Coryell | Tributaries | Arista Novus | |
| 1979 | Joe Beck & Larry Coryell | Tributaries | Arista Novus | |
| 1979 | Hal Galper | Ivory Forest | Enja | |
| 1980 | Dave Liebman | If They Only Knew | Timeless | |
| 1980 | Dave Liebman | What It Is | Columbia | |
| 1980 | Ron McClure | Descendants | Ken | |
| 1981 | Bill Goodwin | Solar Energy | Omni Sound Jazz | |
| 1982 | Peter Warren | Solidarity | JAPO | |
| 1983 | Miles Davis | Star People | Columbia | |
| 1983 | Jim Pepper | Comin' and Goin' | Antilles | |
| 1984 | George Adams | More Sightings | Enja | |
| 1984 | Miles Davis | Decoy | Columbia | |
| 1984 | Eero Koivistoinen | Picture in Three Colours | Pro | Three further tracks of this 1983 session in New York were released by the Finnish Rytmi magazine |
| 1984 | Bennie Wallace | Sweeping Through the City | Enja | |
| 1984 1985 | Miles Davis | The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux 1973–1991 | Warner Switzerland | Scofield on seven of the 20 cd box set released in 2002 |
| 1985 | Miles Davis | You're Under Arrest | Columbia | |
| 1985 | George Adams-Don Pullen Quartet | Live at Montmartre | Timeless | |
| 1985 | Paul Bley | Hot | Soul Note | |
| 1985 | Bennie Wallace | Twilight Time | Blue Note | |
| 1986 | Tal Farlow, John Abercrombie, Larry Carlton, Larry Coryell, John Scofield, John Patitucci & Billy Hart | All Strings Attached | Verve | Part of the 1986 concert series Jazzvisions: Made in America in Los Angeles |
| 1986 | Marc Johnson | Bass Desires | ECM | |
| 1986 | L'Orchestre National du Jazz | Orchestre National du Jazz '86 | Label Bleu | |
| 1987 | Franco Ambrosetti | Movies | Enja | |
| 1987 | Ron McClure | Home Base | ODE | |
| 1987 | Bennie Wallace | Art of the Saxophone | Denon | |
| 1987 | Bennie Wallace | Border Town | Blue Note | |
| 1987 | Roberto Gatto | Ask | Inak | |
| 1987 | Marc Johnson | Second Sight | ECM | |
| 1988 | Franco Ambrosetti | Movies Too | Enja | |
| 1988 | Ray Anderson | Blues Bred in the Bone | Enja | |
| 1988 | Gary Burton | Times Like These | GRP | |
| 1988 | Tommy Smith | Step by Step | Blue Note | |
| 1988 | Missing Links | Groovin | MCA | Scofield on two tracks |
| 1988 | Mike Gibbs Orchestra | Big Time | Venture | |
| 1988 | Tom Harrell | Stories | Contemporary | |
| 1988 | Niels Lan Doky | Daybreak | Storyville | |
| 1989 | Richie Beirach | Some Other Time | Triloka | |
| 1989 | Terri Lyne Carrington | Real Life Story | Verve Forecast | |
| 1989 | Jim McNeely w/the WDR Big Band | East Coast Blow Out | Lipstick | Released in 1991 and reissued in 2014 on Jazzline |
| 1989 | Gary Thomas | By Any Means Necessary | JMT | |
| 1989 | McCoy Tyner | Things Ain't What They Used to Be | Blue Note | |
| 1989 | Terumasa Hino | Bluestruck | Blue Note | |
| 1990 | Bill Cosby & Friends | Where You Lay Your Head | Verve | |
| 1990 | Joey DeFrancesco | Where Were You? | Columbia | |
| 1990 | Manhattan Jazz Quintet | Manhattan Blues | Sweet Basil | |
| 1990 | Harvie Swartz | In a Different Light | Blue Moon | |
| 1990 | Benny Golson | Rhythmstick | CTI | |
| 1991 | Lars Danielsson | Fresh Enough | L+R | |
| 1991 | Dennis Chambers | Getting Even | Glass House/Pioneer (Jp) | |
| 1991 | Peter Erskine | Sweet Soul | Arista Novus | |
| 1991 | Mike Gibbs Band | Symphony Hall, Birmingham 1991 | Dusk Fire | Released in 2018 |
| 1991 | Eero Koivistoinen | Altered Things | Timeless | |
| 1991 | Steve Swallow | Swallow | XtraWATT | |
| 1992 | Gary Burton | Six Pack | GRP | |
| 1992 | Jack DeJohnette | Music for the Fifth World | Capitol | |
| 1992 | Knut Riisnæs & Jon Christensen | Knut Riisnæs – Jon Christensen Featuring John Scofield – Palle Danielsson | Odin | |
| 1993 | Lee Konitz | Rhapsody II | Evidence | |
| 1993 | Jimmy Haslip | A R C | UMG | |
| 1993 | Joe Henderson | So Near, So Far (Musings for Miles) | Verve | |
| 1994 | David Friesen | Two for the Show | ITM Pacific | |
| 1995 | Ray Drummond | Continuum | Arabesque | |
| 1995 | Herbie Hancock | The New Standard | Verve | |
| 1995 | Ron Holloway | Struttin | Milestone | |
| 1995 | Lenny White | Present Tense | Hip Bop | |
| 1996 | Teodross Avery | My Generation | Impulse! | |
| 1997 | Gary Burton | Departure | Concord Jazz | |
| 1997 | Joe Henderson | Porgy & Bess | Verve | |
| 1997 | Chris Potter | Unspoken | Concord Jazz | |
| 1998 | Mark-Anthony Turnage | Blood on the Floor | Decca | |
| 1998 | John Patitucci | Now | Concord Jazz | |
| 1999 | Ulrik / Scofield / Danielsson / Erskine | Shortcuts – Jazzpar Combo 1999 | Stunt | |
| 1999 | Joe Henderson | Quiet Now: Lovesome Thing | Verve | Scofield on two tracks |
| 1999 | Tommy Smith | Blue Smith | Linn | |
| 1999 | Gov't Mule Featuring John Scofield | Sco-Mule | Provogue | Released in 2015 |
| 2000 | Jon Gordon | Possibilities | Double-Time | |
| 2000 | Bill Evans (saxophonist) | Soul Insider | ESC | guitar on 8 & 10 (two tracks) |
| 2001 | Metalwood | The Recline | Verve | |
| 2001 | Project Logic with John Scofield | Sharin' in the Groove | Who Is She Music? | Charity tribute album for Phish and The Mockingbird Foundation. Guitar on "Cars Trucks Buses". |
| 2002 | Chris Potter | Traveling Mercies | Verve | |
| 2003 | Roy Haynes | Love Letters | Columbia | |
| 2003 | Bugge Wesseltoft | New Conception of Jazz Live | Jazzland | |
| 2005 | Marc Johnson | Shades of Jade | ECM | |
| 2005 | John Ellis | One Foot in the Swamp | Hyena | |
| 2006 | Phil Lesh and Friends | Live at the Warfield | Image | |
| 2007 | Keller Williams | Dream | SCI Fidelity | |
| 2009 | Assembly of Dust | Some Assembly Required | Rock Ridge Music | Guitar on "Borrowed Feet" |
| 2010 | Metropole Orkest Featuring John Scofield | 54 | EmArcy | Conducted by Vince Mendoza |
| 2010 | Eddie Henderson | For All We Know | Furthermore | |
| 2021 | Scary Goldings | Scary Goldings IV | Pockets Inc. |
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