Born: Dec 26, 1951 in Dayton, OH.
Genres: Jazz.
Styles: Contemporary Jazz, Post-Bop, Fusion.
Instruments: Leader, Guitar.

One of the "big three" of current jazz guitarists (along with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell), John Scofield's influence grew in the '90s. Possessor of a very distinctive rock-oriented sound that is often a bit distorted, Scofield is a masterful jazz improviser whose music generally falls somewhere between post-bop, fusion, and soul jazz. He started on guitar while at high school in Connecticut, and from 1970-1973 Scofield studied at Berklee and played in the Boston area. After recording with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker at Carnegie Hall, Scofield was a member of the Billy Cobham-George Duke band for two years. In 1977 he recorded with Charles Mingus, and later joined the Gary Burton quartet and Dave Liebman's quintet. His own early sessions as a leader were funk-oriented. During 1982-1985 Scofield toured the world and recorded with Miles Davis. Since that time he has led his own groups, played with Bass Desires, and recorded frequently as a leader for Gramavision and Blue Note, using such major players as Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, and Eddie Harris.

Scofield started a long-term relationship with the Verve label in 1996 with his acoustic album Quiet. He cut the funky A Go Go with Medeski, Martin & Wood in 1997 while 2000's Bump featured members of Sex Mob, Soul Coughing, and Deep Banana Blackout. 2001's Works for Me featured a more traditional jazz sound, but for 2002's Uberjam and 2003's Up All Night, he was back to playing fusion. Drummer Bill Stewart and bassist Steve Swallow rounded out the John Scofield Trio for 2004's cerebral and complex live album EnRoute. In 2005, Scofield paid tribute to legendary soul man Ray Charles with That's What I Say.

- Scott Yanow (All Music Guide)

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John Scofield is certainly no stranger to funk. In the early 1980s he recorded and toured with the pioneer of funky jazz-rock fusion, Miles Davis, appearing on the albums Star People, Decoy, and You're Under Arrest. And he was happy to hear deep, churning grooves come back into popular music at the close of the 20th century. "I've always been into funk," says the 48-year-old Scofield, "and right now the James Brown, Sly Stone, Miles Davis Bitches Brew tradition of the late '60s and early '70s is so alive in young bands like Deep Banana Blackout. At this particular time in history, there's no big generation gap, for me anyway."

An Ohio native, John Scofield was raised in Connecticut and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston in the early 70's until his quick move into the public eye with the Cobham/Duke Band. Scofield toured and recorded with his own groups as well as a wide variety of bandleaders including Mingus, Mulligan, Burton, and McShann, among others. The '80s was a period of high visibility and high volume. It was about playing huge concert halls all over the world with Miles Davis for three years, then stepping out with his own funk-powered fusion band. It was a time of tapping into the Electric Outlet (1986), cranking up the volume and playing loud jazz. At the outset of the '90s, Scofield jumped to the Blue Note label and debuted with his brilliant classic, Time On My Hands. After five albums on Blue Note, John wanted a change and moved to Verve Records, debuting on that label with the timeless and highly praised, Quiet.

Scofield brought together the elements of funk, groove, and jazz with Bump, his third album for the Verve label. The album is a natural progression from his acclaimed 1998 collaboration with Medeski, Martin and Wood, A GoGo. "I wanted to do a record of my tunes in the groove area, rather than straight-ahead jazz," confirms Scofield, "I wanted even more of a funk feel than I've gotten before."

Now, Scofield moves with ease back to the jazz side of his artistic talent. John Scofield's Works for Me features an all star line-up of Brad hemldau (piano), Kenny Garrett (sax), Christian McBride (bass) and Billy Higgins (drums). Equally at home in both genres - funk and straight-ahead, Scofield names his touring unit for the current release "John Scofield Real Jazz Project."