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*** John Scofield ***


Aggie87

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Restarting the Sco-corner, since mjzee apparently isn't around any more (hope I don't end up just talking to myself about Sco)...

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Anyway, I found two Scofield related items at my used store, but haven't pulled the trigger on either. Can anyone recommend either of these titles:

Eero Koivistoinen (try saying that fast!)- Picture in Three Colours, Core Records 1983 (also includes Jack DeJohnette)

and

All Strings Attached, Verve 1987 - some sort of guitar summit or something, with John Abercrombie, Larry Carlton, Larry Coryell, Tal Farlow, and John Patitucci

Thanks,

Erik

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I have listened to a hell of a lot of Sco over the last 12 years, but I haven't come across those titles. A friend of mine had a vinyl copy of a record with Scofield and Abercrombie from the late 80's, but I can't remember the name of it. The liner notes were humorous; Abercrombie wrote this long rambling homage while Sco's contribution was something like, "This shows what can happen if your name is John, you play guitar, and are from Connecticut." :P

I'm going to see the J.S. Band next week in Ann Arbor. Should be great. I saw them in Detroit late last year, in a double bill with the Joshua Redman Band (Sam Yahel and Jeff Ballard subbing for Brian Blade).

I was disappointed that Sco's set was so short. I was just getting started! So I'm really looking forward to next week.

The first time I saw him live was with Joe Lovano in '92. I think they were touring in support of What We Do. Great band. But I think his current band is the best since Groove Elation.

Thanks for starting up a Sco thread! B)

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The Abercrombie disc you're referring to is Solar, which I picked up last year on Westwind. I really like their interplay on that a lot. Gonna have to go re-look the packaging, but I don't recall liner notes like that - at least on the Westwind release - only a brief paragraph from Orrin Keepnews, who produced it, I think.

Yeah, the two titles I mentioned are probably fairly obscure, especially the Eero. I hadn't even heard of him before, but Sco's name on the cover caught my eye while I was trolling for deals.

Let me know what you think of the show. He's not coming to Stuttgart this time around, or I'd jump on it also. There were a couple of humorous comments about Sco live (and his "bald head") on the old BNBB thread. I saw him about two years ago, just before Works for Me came out, and it was great. Wish I could've seen him in the old BN years w/Lovano.

-Erik

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Another rarity that I once had on disc was a duet with Albert Mangelsdorf recorded live at a German jazz festival. They played some cool shit on that. Don't know why I got rid of it. Doh!

You're in Stuttgart? I've been seeing my birthplace in the news lately: Landstuhl. Don't ask me anything about Germany though; my family left when I was a wee lad.

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I haven't seen that Mangelsdorf disc before. I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Thanks for the heads-up. Scofield's done quite a bit of sideman work, for a wide variety of musicians. Kinda hard to keep up with it.

Of the current stuff, do you prefer his funkier side, or the more straight ahead (Works for Me, ScoLoHoFo)? I like it all - his tone, approach, and just about everything. This hasn't really happened for me with many other contemporary guitarists, like Frisell or Metheny. I like both of them, but not everything they've done. I haven't found a Sco disc that I've disliked yet.

I've got the Japanese 2-disc version of Pick Hits Live on its way to me right now (thanks to another board member), and am looking forward to that.

I've also just started discovering Bireli Lagrene over the past 6 months or so, and enjoy everything I've heard from him so far as well. And I just recently picked up Pat Martino's '97 BN date, All Sides Now, but it's still in the queue to be listened to.

Landstuhl is about 2.5 hours away from here on the autobahn (or less if you take advantage of the no-speed limits ;) ). It's a huge military hospital complex, as I'm sure you know. I don't get up there very often, but it's pretty country in that area.

-Erik

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Well, I think it's safe to say that I like both the funky and the straightahead work from John. I haven't heard ScoLoHoFo, and yet I'm more interested in the upcoming J.S. Band release, which they were to have recorded in January. So perhaps I do have a slight preference for the funky shtuff. However, for a long time my absolute favorite album was Grace Under Pressure, a mostly straightahead date.

In comparison to Bill and Pat, I think it's fair to say that John's output isn't quite as varied as theirs. Especially Pat's. (Just think of the difference between Song X, Secret Story, and Beyond the Missouri Sky, for instance). That doesn't make Sco any less artistic or interesting, it's just that the more variation there is in a musician's catalog, the less likely it is that one person will like it all. But I agree, John's albums are all high quality and fun to listen to. He was a huge influence on me when I first got into jazz, and continues to be.

That 2 disc set sounds interesting. There's some slammin' stuff on the original release. Although, I always thought that the keyboard tracks were unfortunetly quite weak. No matter; just listen to the rest of the band. Did you see the instructional videos that John made with that band a few years ago? (Jim Beard replaced the guy that was on Pick Hits). They actually sounded better than when they were originally together! And they looked like they were having a blast!

Bireli Lagrene is incredible. The only album I have is called Duet, with Sylvan Luc (on the Dreyfus label). If you don't have it, get it soon. It's very cool. Do you know of Sylvan? He is one hell of a beautiful guitarist.

Another guy that blows me away is Kurt Rosenwinkel. His playing to me sounds so beautiful and free. The Next Step is the disc to get. I'm anxiously waiting for a new one from him; Next Step is over two years old now. C'mon, Kurt!! The other bummer is that he rarely plays outside of NYC. A good friend of mine and Jim's, who is an excellent drummer, was telling me about seeing Kurt at the Village Vanguard. He said they were totally killing.

If I may ask, are you a native German? I don't detect anything in your writing that would indicate that English is a second language for you, so either it isn't, or you just learned it very well. My dad's mom was the only one in our family who spoke German,and she didn't pass it on to her kids. In the years following WWII it just wasn't a fashionable thing I guess. Come to think of it, to a lesser extant, it's sort of that way now. :(

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Another rarity that I once had on disc was a duet with Albert Mangelsdorf recorded live at a German jazz festival. They played some cool shit on that. Don't know why I got rid of it. Doh!

I have that one, it's pretty nice. (I seem to remember that there are several different groups on the CD, but I don't have it in front of me.)

It come out from Tutu in 1990 and was recorded at the International Jazz Festival Munster.

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I'd agree that Sco's work isn't as varied - though in retrospect, he's tried a LARGE variety of band combinations over the years, trio, quartet, organ, acoustic, funk, collaborations w/Frisell, Metheny, Abercrombie, etc. And that's just his leader dates. So it's not as if he's TRYING to stay in one bag, to me anyway, but he's still got that identifiable Sco thing (this sentence sounds like I quoted JSngry :D ).

But I hear you re: Metheny. There is SO much variety in his work! I like Missouri Sky and Imaginary Day, though the last PMG release hasn't really done much for me (was listening to it in the car just yesterday). I don't have all that much Metheny yet, so there's a whole lot for me to digest there.

Frisell I've really grown to like lately. I've got a number of his nonesuch releases, and really have enjoyed them. They don't move me like Sco does, but I've gotten to where I'll buy his new releases without reservation.

If you can find it, I think you'd really enjoy Lagrene's Standards disc on Blue Note. Gypsy Project is also great, in the Django/Hot Club style. I also have his Sinatra tribute, Blue Eyes which is nice, and even includes him singing on a couple of tunes. I don't know Sylvan Luc, but I have seen that duet disc once or twice here locally. Another one for my "to buy" list...

And no, I haven't seen the video you mentioned - or any Sco video for that matter. Not sure I'd have time to watch that anyway, since my kids seem to have commandeered the TV set.

And I'm not native German, though I've lived here during parts of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and now 00s. I'm American, and consider myself to be from Texas - love it here in Deutschland, though! Went to Texas A&M (hence the "Aggie name). So English is my first language. I can speak German passably, though I definitely don't have the right accent. Especially the Schwabian dialect in this area, which is sort of equivalent to the southern dialect in the U.S. Definitely not "hoch Deutsch"! My daughter goes to German kindergarten, so she's just starting to pick up a little German language, which is the perfect age to start learning a second language, IMO.

I have German colleagues and friends, and we've had a number of interesting discussions about current events. Most don't assume that since I'm American that I'm automatically for (or against) what's going on. It's nice to engage in conversation with open-minded people who can respect one another's opinion, regardless whether it mirrors your own or not.

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Hey couw - are there any good restaurants serving Maultaschen oder Spätzle up that far north? :) Think I could go for a nice bowl of Käsespätzle tonight! Though I guess that's a little off topic!!!

Thanks for the pointer to Amazon.de also. I always seem to forget them and concentrate on zweitausendeins when I'm surfing german music websites. I'll probably checked my usual used stores first though. One in particular seems to always surprise me with what they have available.

Edited by Aggie87
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Re: Metheny, I LOVE Speaking of Now, and the tour in support was spectacular. But that's just my fanatical opinion. Missouri Sky is gorgeous, one of my favorites. Frisell is great, but I've drifted away from him in the last few years. I liked Nashville quite a bit (I'm a big bluegrass fan, and actually knew of Jerry Douglas long before I heard of Frisell), but just haven't kept up with his output. There was an album he did with Paul Motion, Lovano and Marc Johnson called Bill Evans that is one my favorite examples of Bill's playing. He is certainly one of a kind.

And getting back to Sco, I imagine you have heard Bass Desires, with Frisell and Marc Johnson? Classic stuff in my opinion. The guy that engineered our CD saw that group live. He said he was seated in the front row, but had to move back because Bill was just too intense! But yes, John has had an amazing career in terms of all the people he's played with. Literally a who's who!(Do you have that album w/ Dave Liebman?)

What?? Another Texan?!?! There's almost as many of y'all on the forum as there are Michiganians! (This is a Michigan based site now, after all.) My dad was stationed in both Texas and Germany during the Vietnam era. He was just telling me last weekend how much he liked Germany. I don't remember a damn thing, though I do hope to go back someday, ideally on a tour with organissimo! With a name like that, they might think that we're native sons! :D

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That Bass Desires album is fantastic! I've been keeping my eye out for it's sequel, Second Sight for a long time, but haven't come up with it locally yet. I would've loved to have seen that tour.

On another Sco note, I'm still kicking myself for putting that East Meets West vinyl back in the bin at one of my used stores a while back (thinking it would be available on my next visit). Haven't seen it again, and don't really expect to see another copy any time soon.

Metheny & Haden are coming here next month, I assume playing selections from Missouri Sky, and possibly some newer stuff as well (?). I'm gonna try and get to that show (alot of non-jazz shows in May here as well - Neil Young, Lou Reed, and Peter Gabriel have all piqued my interest).

P.S. - I guess couw doesn't know what Maultaschen is :winky:

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My friend has a copy of East Meets West on vinyl. It's interesting as a novelty item, but the rhthym section leaves a bit to be desired. If I remember correctly, it's all Japanese players. :rhappy:

Just two days now until the Sco show in Ann Arbor. :excited: I'll be sure to post a review.

I've heard rumors that Pat and Charlie are planning a sequel to Missouri Sky. I hope they get around to that soon. Really wish I could see them live.

"P.S. - I guess couw doesn't know what Maultaschen is"

That went over my head too. :)

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Just got back from the Sco show. Folks, that was some BBAAADDD SHIT! Avi is the rhythm guitar KING! John was burning, as was Adam Dietch. The place was packed and hoppin'. Lots of fun. Unfortunately, Jim forgot to bring the digital camera, so we don't have the pictures to prove it. But we did get to shake John's hand and give him a copy of Waiting for the Boogaloo Sisters. :D

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A most solid recommendation I received on a jazz bulletin board was for a recording titled "Shortcuts: Jazzpar 1999."

Hans Ulrik - tenor

John Scofield - guitar

Lars Danielsson - bass

Peter Erskine - drums

Three of the eight numbers were recorded in studio, the others at two live concerts in Denmark. In studio problems skewed the ratio in favor of the live recordings. This is a most satisfying recording to these ears - a good mix of textures and some really fine work by Sco and Peter. Until this recording, I had not heard either Lars Danielsson or Hans Ulrik - both fine players.

So allow me to pass along this rec. - and mention that I noticed a copy is available on half.com (not mine!) in "like new" condition for $5.99 with a free upgrade to 1rst class shipping. And to whomever snatches this up ------ you're welcome! ;)

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What was the set list at the show, Joe? Mostly from überjam and the upcoming release? I wish he'd bring this band over here! I saw Sco a couple of years back, just after the Bump album came out. He played a mix of funk and straight-ahead, and was great! I spoke with him backstage after the show for a few minutes, and he seemed to be very friendly, even got him to sign my copies of A Go Go and Steady Groovin'.

Thanks for the recommendation, Jimmy Gee. For the (used) price, it's probably worth picking up.

I think I've seen that "Shortcuts" disc as well. May have to keep an eye open for it as well.

Also, for anyone interested, I just received the two disc version of Pick Hits Live. The extra disc contains three tunes - Still Warm, The Nag, and So You Say - and totals about 43 minutes of extra music. Not too shabby!!!

Joe - Maultaschen is a Schwabian dish that is basically ravioli. I was just curious as to its availability as far north in Germany as couw is.

Edited by Aggie87
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Yes, the tunes were mostly from those two albums, with a couple from A Go Go for good measure. I'm not so good at remembering song titles, so that's the best I can do. The ones from the upcoming release sound great. A little bit different, but still in that vein. You know, they are coming to Berlin May 27th. Is that too far for you? (The farthest I go is Chicago, about 4 hours away).

It's funny, I was over at the Metheny forum for a minute this morning, and someone left a post about Sco's show in Indiana over the weekend. The guy hated it! Check it out:

This last weekend I took my wife to see John Scofield in Bloomington,IL... It was the worst thing I had ever heard. I found myself constantly apologizing to my wife for the music we were listening to. She was kind of psyced to hear him live after I played her a bunch of his music before the concert. Alot of people walked out...The first 25 minutes were because his pedals were all screwed up, then the rest was anybody's guess. After paying $65 for two tickets it was very disappointing And he only played an hour (but I suppose that was because there were probably only about 100-200 people in a 3400 seat auditorium).

Yikes! Guess everyone has a bad night once in a while. :(

Edited by Joe G
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Sounds like that couple had a bad experience at the show. Maybe they were expecting more BN/straightahead stuff, and got überjam. Though if there were technical problems for half of the show, that's certainly would have an effect as well.

I'm surprised about the low turnouts. Is that pretty much the norm for that type of show? When I last saw Sco here, it was in a 4000+ seat venue, and it was close to being sold out. I thought I'd read somewhere a while back that he was getting the jam band crowds coming to his shows, probaby due to the MMW connection.

Berlin is probably an 8 hour drive from here (or about 6-7 without the family ;) ), so it's a little too far for a show. If I knew someone there I could stay with, that might help, but with gas/food/lodging etc., it's really not an affordable trip for me unfortunately. Plus, I've got a few other May concerts locally that I've still got to narrow down to one or two must-sees.

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Actually that low turnout is not the norm. On the other hand, most of the times I've seen Sco (6 times now) have been in clubs, which are normally packed. He had a good crowd at the Detroit JazzFest, also at Symphony Hall. But I've always heard that those guys do much better in Europe than here. Strange how the country that produced this music doesn't embrace it like others do. And yes, it was very much a jam band crowd. :party:

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alankin - it's old. It's a 1995 re-release of the original album, and I picked it up from another board member. I don't have the single disc version to compare to, but I other than the extra three tunes I mentioned (one of which is 21 min. long) I don't think there's alot of difference between the two versions.

On another subject, I've been listening to Who's Who this week for the first time. This is a nice '79 release, with Kenny Kirkland. I really like the title track, and the two tracks with Dave Liebman are great as well. Probably not one of Sco's greatest albums overall, but very nice for this early in his career.

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