John Scofield

Birth Name John Scofield
Born December 26, 1951 Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Age 68 Years
Genres Jazz, jazz fusion, acid jazz
Instruments Guitar
Associated acts Miles Davis, Billy Cobham, Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow, Marc
Johnson, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, Medeski Martin & Wood,
Trio Beyond

John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as “Sco”, is an American jazz-rock guitarist and composer whose music includes bebop, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul, and rock. He has worked with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey DeFrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Eddie Palmieri, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham, Medeski Martin & Wood, George Duke, Jaco Pastorius, John Mayer, Robert Glasper, and Gov’t Mule.

Video Playlist
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Quiet and Loud jazz
Quiet and Loud jazz
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Jolene
Jolene
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Blue Matter
Blue Matter

Scofield’s family left Ohio and moved to Wilton, Connecticut, where he discovered his interest in music. 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 after and spent two years playing, recording and touring with them. He recorded with Charles Mingus in 1976 and replaced Pat Metheny in Gary Burton’s quartet.

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. 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.

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. After he left Davis, he released Electric Outlet (1984) and Still Warm (1985).

Top 3 John Scofield Recordings

 

 

 

How To Play Guitar Like John Scofield

John Scofield Guitar Transcriptions

This book contains 16 songs from this jazz/fusion guitarist featuring full transcriptions and performance notes.