Scofield's bridge picking is one of the (Many!) things that really gets me. I love classic Jazz guitar tone but his plunge into full on nasty is ace. It's particularly refreshing to hear on straight ahead standards.
Originally playing stock models, Sco and Pat got signature Ibanez guitars as did George and Lee. Following this pattern there must be a "Jens" model Ibanez coming soon!
"Expression is mostly in the right hand." In Jazz more than some other genres, but so much of Scofield's sound is in his left hand, all those little microtonal bends that make everything sound greasy. One my favorite players. Saw him in a tiny club in California, sitting a few feet from him, and got high with his bass player afterwards. Good night.
His "Grace Under Pressure" album with Bill Frisell was when I first heard him. I liked his "A Go Go" 90s album (with Medeski Martin & Wood) a lot less, but love "Country For Old Men."
my opinion on scofield: 35 years ago, if he had taken a final master's degree exam, his mark would have been 100%. everything perfect and theoricaly correct has you describe. today he is well beyond that. he reached a level of freedom , his own language. 3 days ago saw him live in a small theater. I think it is the highest level of musicianship i will ever see.
Miles always picked the greatest players including Scofield. One thing I've noticed when encountering some of these musicians in person is that they are extremely sharp and intelligent people. In 2019 I attended a public sound check/ Q&A session with John Scofield and I was very impressed. He also had a beautiful guitar sound during the show. He never seems to run out of ideas when soloing. And of course he's written dozens and dozens of great tunes over the years. A true master!
Thank you Mr. Larsen for one of your best breakdowns to date (your harmonic analysis has always been illuminating, but your production values on these vids is getting better & better!). As a player, I'm steeped in the rock/blues world, but I've always loved jazz guitar, and here you really nail the things I appreciate about Scofield's playing that I couldn't articulate anywhere near as well. Speaking of polarizing players (in some quarters anyway), I'd love to know how you feel about Allan Holdswoth's music sometime? His approach to harmony was so idiosyncratic/eccentric.
I like that you mention Frisell in the context of Scofield - the Bass Desires records, and Sco’s Grace Under Pressure shows two very unique voices blending together to create a whole that is more than the sum of it’s parts - Sco using more bop and post bop language, Frisell using more orchestral and avant-garde lower East side language, not to mention the different but extremely complimentary tones they use. Both of them have had an influence on me and my thinking, as far as having a personal vocabulary informed by others (guitarists and other instrumentalists, from all periods) being much more interesting (to me) than being a textbook bop (or whatever) player. Very well done (loved the “typical Danish rehearsal space”, makes me want to visit…) - it does seem, from replies I got to a compliment I left you on another video, that you do have some commenters that are carrying pitchforks, so enjoy whatever fun they have with your opinions! It is my understanding that having an Igor around is how mad scientists escape those crowds, so you might consider having one around when needed. I appreciate your work.
I've always gravitated more towards funk / soul / blues, but Sco was the first guitar player that made me want to get into jazz. When I heard Groove Elation and A Go Go, they blew my mind. Great video!
One example of a jazz guitarist that was a genre defining artist, in my opinion was John McLaughlin for fusion. Birds on Fire by the Mahavishnu Orchestra and his work with world music are iconic! But I know not everyone loves fusion as much as me 😂
That's what I was thinking also but I would go back to McLaughlin when Miles used him - for me especially Jack Johnson. Spawning for better or worse that jazz fusion guitar sound.
My favorite musicians defy genre. Saying John Scofield is jazz is like saying Thelonious Monk is jazz, Less Claypool is funk, Hendrix is rock, Robert Fripp is prog... Duke Ellington has often pointed out that he doesn't know what "jazz" is supposed to mean and that he doesn't even call his work "playing the piano", he calls it "dreaming". After hearing Scofield live a couple of years ago I can safely say that he is my favorite musician I've ever heard. He can make a Bob Dylan song sound like a jazz standard and make any jazz standard sound like anything other than jazz. But all of them share the same quality. They all have the sound I can only refer to as the "John Scofield" sound. And just like Thelonious Monk puts it - a genius is the one most like himself. John Scofield is inexcusably most like himself in every single note he plays.
Well, if you listen to some interviews with Scofield then he clearly thinks of himself as a Jazz guitarist, but if you feel he should not be labelled then that's fine too.
@@JensLarsen I analyzed Scofield's "Mama Tried" and "House of the Rising Sun" for Guitar Player magazine. Also transcribed and analyzed "There Will Never be" and "Not You Again"for myself. Happy to share if you want.
Pick Hits Live was my first introduction to jazz. Have seen Scofield many times in the Netherlands as he plays here quiet regularly. Great player, always sounds like him no matter what amp or guitar he uses (I've seen him with the AC30 and a Telecaster too). He has an interesting style of writing too. Some of his tunes are kind of easy groove and lick based jams (the stuff with Medeski Martin Wood for example) but some others are really angular and complex (see his tunes on Works for me). It is why I find the record with Metheny so interesting because the two playing AND writing styles are contrasted so nicely on that record. Hearing them interpret the same written melody just from the perspective of the beat is so interesting (take The Red One for example). He also never really seems to want to look back and refer to his older stuff. He plays the current thing most of the time. The reunion with Beard/Grainger/Chambers was a one off oddity in that sense. I do think Metheny is the one of those two with the long lasting wide impact because Metheny's impact goes beyond his playing. It's his sounds, his use of technology and making it mainstream acceptable within jazz, his compositional mindset and the results that delivers, his introduction of all kinds of non-jazz related styles within the jazz and improvisational idiom (pop music, Americana, folk, minimalism, etc.) and his ability to be very melodic and lyrical (his tunes are in the Real Book basically since inception of his work, that's not really the case with Sco's). In the end, Metheny is the one with the diversity in his music because Metheny is the composer of the two in addition to just being a very good player and improviser. Who else is going to give you Wichita Falls, Song X, Question and Answer, Letter from Home, Secret Story, Imaginary Day, Zero Tolerance for silence, Electric Counterpoint, Tap, and the Sign of 4?
I used to find it difficult to listen to early Scofield because of the chorused guitar sound but since he’s moved away from that I’ve enjoyed his playing much more. I think he does excellent arrangements of simple songs with interesting re harmonisation too like ‘House of Rising Sun’. The first album of his that I’d highly recommend to guitarists getting into jazz is his tribute to Ray Charles ‘That’s What I Say’ because he adds his unique improvisational style to some pretty amazing well known songs
Same here. I couldn’t stand that sound so I’ve never really listened much to him. Same with Mike Stern and Metheny. Except Bright Size Life is one of my favorite records.
Hi Jens, I love this track! There is something I noticed and I wondered what your opinion was - at around 3:15 when you describe the chords moving up Gm, I think he is actually playing the Barry Harris 6th diminished scale alternating between inversions of the drop2 Gm7(Bb6) and F#dim(D7b9) which is why it sounds so cool. That also implies you might have one note wrong - the E on the 2nd chord should be an Eb in bebop world. Do you agree? I only noticed this as I am currently immersing myself in the genius of Barry Harris. Thanks again!
That technique is actually not just something Barry came up with, it is a standard way of harmonizing melodies that is a lot older. It also isn't really something you have to consider a scale. He is not playing F#dim, he is playing an F#m shell-voicing, you probably just want to hear the dim because you are busy with it, which is fair enough 😁
Thanks, it is true that I’m seeing Barry everywhere at the moment. Appreciate your analysis of this tune - it is one of the great guitar performances of all time (in my view) and is perfect in so many ways.
Thank you very much for this excellent video, Jens. I completely agree that there are very few jazz guitarist that have changed the course of the genre, but I didn't think about it that way. Metheny and Scofield are among the very few making a clear imprint. I would add Holsworth to that shortlist of guitarists whose music may have influenced musicians playing other instruments.
Thank you! I don't think I have ever met anyone besides guitar players that listened to Holdsworth, so I would not say that he has had a big impact beyond guitar?
@@A--o--K That is not really the same thing though. Being an influence on one important artists in a style vs being an influence in the style are two different things (to me anyway)
@@JensLarsen You're most likely right. I'm not a musician to judge that. I had the idea that the ways he managed harmony interested and influenced musicians in the jazz fusion genre, that other musicians hired him to play in their recordings, but to be honest, that's something a guitarist told me :D
@@Cooltorpedo Well, my perspective is from someone in a Jazz environment, pretty much nobody plays fusion in my network, so it could be that he has more influence in other scenes_ and I just never hear about it, but all the people I know who listen to him are guitar players.
@@JensLarsen Yes, I guess so, that's why it's very interesting exchanging opinions. It feels kind of sad that so very few guitarists became an influence to the genre. Wondering if Django's gypsy style influenced other musicians.
It is not my favorite album, not even in my top 5, but it is one of the most influential albums if I look at my colleagues (and especially the non guitarist segment) 🙂
While I completely agree that there's no household-name jazz guitar record, "Undercurrent" by Bill Evans/Jim Hall should be one, though it's definitely more focused on Evans (and rightly so). That being said, Jim Hall's playing in 1962 was a game changer.
Jens, excellent solo and analysis. I never really liked Scofield before this - I may have to reconsider. I hate the processed Berklee sound. Metheny sometimes sounds like he’s playing through a wall from a different room
Like Wes, Scofield has a great tone and sensibilities that appeal widely. As a few of my musical friends say, "actually listenable jazz". A bit harsh but they aren't wrong!
No doubt Scofield can play! Jens, I have a question for you. Which do you think is more important to playing a good, really good solo, The notes the player chooses to play, or the rhythms used to play them? I'm kind of thinking of a player playing a bit outside the harmony, but rhythmically tying his lines back to chord tones. I can't think of an example right now, but recall hearing players play some rather odd, outside lines, but the lines sounded great because the player knew how to rhythmically tie his lines together and it all sounded great and made perfect sense. What are your thoughts on rhythm vs. note choices?
@@JensLarsen I under stand your reply, but if one or the other element had to be deemed more important than the other, I think it's rhythm. I guess we could turn the argument around and say good melodic phrasing wouldn't sound great without cool, interesting rhythmic variations. I experiment with adding random tones to lines and find they generally sound fine provided they can be rhythmically tied into the line, or the following line. Tricky topic!
Hi Jens. Hope you can answer my primative based question: I'm not really a jazzer but I like some ideas. So if I had a dissonant melody I wanted to harmonize (put chords to) is there an easy/preferred method? I kinda want to focus on playing than TOO much theory if possible? Thanks!
Just get better at harmonizing simple melodies then you get more freedom with more complicated ones. You don't necessarily need theory for that, but it does make it easier for most people
Something about the music staff in this video changed. It looks so much better now compared to just pasting the screenshot of Musescore/Guitar Pro (or whatever you're using, anyway, what do you use?) in your past videos.
Would you say that Scofield and Metheny are genre-defining for Jazz as a style? A Genius Chord Melody Approach: th-cam.com/video/RUyJQITb8eE/w-d-xo.html
@@deeohgee70 I would not say that Frisell has that much reach outside guitar compared to the other two. I would however consider them the top of that generation.
Scofield is a very good jazz guitarist, but like Metheny, he owes much of his sound to his pedalboard. In both of these players' sound, their technique entails a modified sound -chorus, delay, equalizer, etc. Perhaps that is the more innovative aspect rather than their actual musicianship.
@@guitargod6997omg. What a load of rubbish. You do realise who you’re talking about? Sco and metheny are two of the most important jazz musicians (not just guitar players) of their generation. Gee
No, I don't. It is difficult to give too specific advice because everybody is different and at different levels, but maybe check out this post: jenslarsen.nl/how-to-learn-jazz-guitar-suggestions-to-begin-studying/
So I am predominantly a bass player, no matter what you end up seeing on my yt channel. I’m also a huge fan of Scofield across his whole catalog. If I were a better guitar player I would emulate him.
Charlie Christian was pretty influencial to Lester Young and other horn players Scofield is also a great inspiration to me Don't you think that his simpler style on this standard is because he is relying more on his ears now than playing his signature licks Everything he plays is so melodic, even pentatonics sound like a melodic development
@@JensLarsen He was in mid 20 30, I was just 18. He had the es335 too. Great time for Jazz, John McLaughlin came out and opened up the fusion world. I saw him live, amazing player.
Another Great Video Jens. Although in my humble opinion, with Scofield in particular or Guitar in General, Expressiveness can come from both the Articulation, Dynamics and Techniques, of the Picking Hand and, the Hammer Ons, Pull Offs, Slides, Bends and Vibrato of the Fretting Hand. Melodies that have a lot of Long Notes and Rests lend themselves to Melodic Embellishments. Although some Melodies are so Beautiful that in my opinion they should be played Straight at least the First Time in the Form. My favorite Scofield album is Still Warm. It's Scofield at his most Scofieldian. Is that a word. For anyone that's interested in more information about Sparce Voicings, check out Three Note Voicings and Beyond by Randy Vincent. Thanks.
Glad you like it! Sure the other stuff is there as well, but, to me, it is the right hand is probably what sets him apart. That he uses a lot of legato is pretty much common for a lot of players.
@JensLarsen Your absolutely right. Although in Scofield's Instructional Video On Improvisation, he talks about Picking Approximately Half of the Notes, and Legato Approximately Half of the Notes. This is sometimes referred to as 50/50 Articulation. Metheny/Scofield and many Post Metheny/Scofield Guitarists play this way. Also with Jazz Musicians just Starting Out, they sometimes want to fill a Solo with Lots Of Language. They want to Prove What They Can Do so to speak. On the other hand, a Jazz Legend Past or Present, can show a lot more Restraint, because we already know what they can do so to speak. Thanks.
@@michaelstevens8 I think Wes and Jim Hall also used a LOT of legato as well? That's where Metheny and Scofield got it I suspect. I don't really understand the last part of your comment?
@@JensLarsenYes, Wes and Hall are Major influences of Metheny and Scofield. Although some of Metheny and Scofields Phrasing is more of a Consistent mix of Picked and Legato. You mentioned Genre Defining Impact. I believe Wes had a Genre Defining Impact on Soul Jazz/Hard Bop at least to certain extent with his Organ Trio format even though he wasn't the first. I believe he also had an Genre Defining Impact on Pop Jazz with his later Verve and A&M albums. I believe Derek Bailey had an Impact Beyond Guitar with the Free Jazz Genre, Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie have had an Impact Beyond Guitar with Third Stream Jazz and Definitely Metheny/Mays have had an Impact Beyond Guitar with their Atmospheric and Melodic Writing. Also your right about the Jazz Guitar Bubble. Jazz Improvised Single Note Lines historically come from Horn Players and Jazz Harmony historically comes from Piano Players. Thanks.
To my ears, Sco's harmonic concept comes out of Dave Leibman. If you listen to the album he did with Leibman you'll see. Also you can't leave out Abercrombie and Mick Goodrick.
If we are talking about guitarists that stepped outside of the sounds of what one might call "conventional" jazz guitar, I think Pat Martino has to be in that club too.
Joe pass made a big change in jazz guitar, with his chord melody,no one played bass lines with chords they way he did, all the possibilities he showed guitar players they had never thought off till Joe Pass,he change the way people looked at there guitars, not to take anything away from John, but he's no Joe! John said that
I believe you forget the huge influence of Charlie Christian on bebop. Also fusion jazz is a part of jazz, not separate. The influence of players like Coryell and McLaughlin were huge and still being felt today.
Not really, Of course Charlie Christian was around at the beginning of Bebop, but what did he do that influenced piano players or drummers for example? Is it not more like Miles copying stuff from Ahmad Jamal and then everyone copying Miles, so even if Charlie Christian influenced Parker or Dizzy then we know it from them, not from Charlie Christian, and we don't even know what they got from him and what they did themselves.
@@angelobranford1029 yes, but as I said above, I don't really think that is what you can call influence across the entire genre, since it is only a single person.
@@JensLarsen i disagree. jazz manouche melting both jazz and music from central europe did not existed befor e django and his hot club de France. It is regarded by some as the first fully european jazz sound.
@@louishugues4106 Yes, But I think that is something else, making a subgenre is not really influencing jazz as a genre. You don't have Coltrane or Parker playing Django licks or progressions, it is pretty much isolated to guitar. That doesn't say anything about whether it is good music it is just about the impact it had beyond guitar players.
@@JensLarsen I forgot to add George Benson. George is definitely up there. But these guys people are adding above just shows me that these people can't hear what you and me hear. While Tommy Emmanuel is a good guitar player, he is playing the same rehearsed stuff. Scofield is always improvising and coming up with stuff you've never heard before and on top of that it is very musical. His sense of rhythm is simply superb. It's on the level of Michael Brecker, like a massive freight train.
12:36 'and isnt that what's it's really all about' no, not for me. not at all, in fact. the bebop police laughed and mocked me and i cant make a single cent from my music! sad world really. the well to do mock the poor! wonderful. im done with 'the tradition', it can eat my...
ok scof is great but i'm surprised that you can listen to an entire album from him lol ! i cannot ! oula ! even metheny i cannot ! i must say that a cannot listen to a guitar album ! sorry for my english ! just a guitar 1 hour . aie aie aie !
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Scofield's bridge picking is one of the (Many!) things that really gets me. I love classic Jazz guitar tone but his plunge into full on nasty is ace. It's particularly refreshing to hear on straight ahead standards.
I totally agree with you. I saw Scofield when he was with Miles. I had never heard anything like it in my life.
Originally playing stock models, Sco and Pat got signature Ibanez guitars as did George and Lee. Following this pattern there must be a "Jens" model Ibanez coming soon!
I wish! 🙂 I can always dream, but I really doubt that will happen!
Lee who?
Lee Ritenour
Scofield is really a jazz-rock-funk fusion guitarist. He’s a top notch improvisor.
Perfectly said. No one sounds like him
"[...] Sco rocked with Miles and he's one of the best "
"Expression is mostly in the right hand."
In Jazz more than some other genres, but so much of Scofield's sound is in his left hand, all those little microtonal bends that make everything sound greasy.
One my favorite players. Saw him in a tiny club in California, sitting a few feet from him, and got high with his bass player afterwards. Good night.
Ok, I guess you want to read it as Scofield uses right hand techniques and right hand placement expressively more than most guitar players 🙂
Scofield is just the greatest. His playing is always personal, always fresh.
Indeed! It is just consistently good and consistently Scofield.
Scofield is beyond compare. Probably my most listened jazz artist ever
Timing, on my way to see SCO this evening. I'm stoked.
Great! Have fun!
Sco is the man! Always delivers. Blue Matter & Loud Jazz are my faves.
Nice! Great early sco stuff!
His "Grace Under Pressure" album with Bill Frisell was when I first heard him. I liked his "A Go Go" 90s album (with Medeski Martin & Wood) a lot less, but love "Country For Old Men."
Sco always gets it down right! A musician's musician! Cheers for this one
Glad you like it! He is indeed a fantastic musician 😎
@@JensLarsen For sure!
One of my favorite players. I saw him twice in a small venue. Live his phrasing, dynamics
Yes, amazing!
Your enthusiasm is infectious Jens, clear and with great examples of Sco's playing..I want you to reach 500,000 subs soon!
Thank you 🙂 That is probably going to take a few years
my opinion on scofield: 35 years ago, if he had taken a final master's degree exam, his mark would have been 100%. everything perfect and theoricaly correct has you describe. today he is well beyond that. he reached a level of freedom , his own language. 3 days ago saw him live in a small theater. I think it is the highest level of musicianship i will ever see.
He is certainly amazing!
Miles always picked the greatest players including Scofield. One thing I've noticed when encountering some of these musicians in person is that they are extremely sharp and intelligent people. In 2019 I attended a public sound check/ Q&A session with John Scofield and I was very impressed. He also had a beautiful guitar sound during the show. He never seems to run out of ideas when soloing. And of course he's written dozens and dozens of great tunes over the years. A true master!
Wonderful deep dive on one of the greatest ever. Yeah I’ve loved Scofield since I first heard him with Miles in the early eighties.
Thank you Mr. Larsen for one of your best breakdowns to date (your harmonic analysis has always been illuminating, but your production values on these vids is getting better & better!). As a player, I'm steeped in the rock/blues world, but I've always loved jazz guitar, and here you really nail the things I appreciate about Scofield's playing that I couldn't articulate anywhere near as well. Speaking of polarizing players (in some quarters anyway), I'd love to know how you feel about Allan Holdswoth's music sometime? His approach to harmony was so idiosyncratic/eccentric.
Glad you like it! You wanted some thoughts on Holdsworth: th-cam.com/video/MnqxkA5AFmU/w-d-xo.html
@@JensLarsen Dear Heavens! 😆 I'm subscribed to you, but these escaped me somehow! Diving into those--thank you so much!
Great video as always. More Scofield in the future please!
Thanks! Will do!
JS Bach hey, I wondered what the JS stood for. Love scofield. I saw him live in the late 90s and his playing was magical.
😂 Thanks!
A genius admires a genius. Huge respect Jens.
Thank you! I don't think I fall in the same category as Sco 🙂
I like that you mention Frisell in the context of Scofield - the Bass Desires records, and Sco’s Grace Under Pressure shows two very unique voices blending together to create a whole that is more than the sum of it’s parts - Sco using more bop and post bop language, Frisell using more orchestral and avant-garde lower East side language, not to mention the different but extremely complimentary tones they use.
Both of them have had an influence on me and my thinking, as far as having a personal vocabulary informed by others (guitarists and other instrumentalists, from all periods) being much more interesting (to me) than being a textbook bop (or whatever) player.
Very well done (loved the “typical Danish rehearsal space”, makes me want to visit…) - it does seem, from replies I got to a compliment I left you on another video, that you do have some commenters that are carrying pitchforks, so enjoy whatever fun they have with your opinions! It is my understanding that having an Igor around is how mad scientists escape those crowds, so you might consider having one around when needed.
I appreciate your work.
I have loved Scofield since first hearing the Blue Matter album in the late 80s. He puts his stamp on everything he does. A complete original.
Thank you for the lesson. I'm going to start listening to Scofield after seeing this video.
Hope you find something you like! 🙂
Listen to the 2nd song (Slinky) of scofield's live at marciac ft. mulgrew miller. His solo is quite legendary.
I've always gravitated more towards funk / soul / blues, but Sco was the first guitar player that made me want to get into jazz. When I heard Groove Elation and A Go Go, they blew my mind. Great video!
That's just what the Horn Industrial Complex wants you to think. Guitarists are the taste makers of jazz!
Standing up to Big Brass?
One example of a jazz guitarist that was a genre defining artist, in my opinion was John McLaughlin for fusion. Birds on Fire by the Mahavishnu Orchestra and his work with world music are iconic! But I know not everyone loves fusion as much as me 😂
That's what I was thinking also but I would go back to McLaughlin when Miles used him - for me especially Jack Johnson. Spawning for better or worse that jazz fusion guitar sound.
Haha that could be. It sort of spun off into its own thing and there wasn't really a lot of crossover, so I guess it was never really on my radar
@@mannoplanetgood point about Jack Johnson and In a Silent Way era Miles. But I always think of those albums more as Miles pushing boundaries
My favorite musicians defy genre. Saying John Scofield is jazz is like saying Thelonious Monk is jazz, Less Claypool is funk, Hendrix is rock, Robert Fripp is prog... Duke Ellington has often pointed out that he doesn't know what "jazz" is supposed to mean and that he doesn't even call his work "playing the piano", he calls it "dreaming".
After hearing Scofield live a couple of years ago I can safely say that he is my favorite musician I've ever heard. He can make a Bob Dylan song sound like a jazz standard and make any jazz standard sound like anything other than jazz. But all of them share the same quality. They all have the sound I can only refer to as the "John Scofield" sound. And just like Thelonious Monk puts it - a genius is the one most like himself. John Scofield is inexcusably most like himself in every single note he plays.
Well, if you listen to some interviews with Scofield then he clearly thinks of himself as a Jazz guitarist, but if you feel he should not be labelled then that's fine too.
Sco is the man.
Certainly!
Scofield's playing is deep. One of the greats.
Certainly 🙂
@@JensLarsen I analyzed Scofield's "Mama Tried" and "House of the Rising Sun" for Guitar Player magazine. Also transcribed and analyzed "There Will Never be" and "Not You Again"for myself. Happy to share if you want.
@@JensLarsen th-cam.com/video/GpsOk6h4po4/w-d-xo.html
@@swikkis That would be amazing! Can I send you an email?
@@JensLarsen Yes!
Jens, every word you say here is true!
🙂🙏
Pick Hits Live was my first introduction to jazz. Have seen Scofield many times in the Netherlands as he plays here quiet regularly. Great player, always sounds like him no matter what amp or guitar he uses (I've seen him with the AC30 and a Telecaster too). He has an interesting style of writing too. Some of his tunes are kind of easy groove and lick based jams (the stuff with Medeski Martin Wood for example) but some others are really angular and complex (see his tunes on Works for me). It is why I find the record with Metheny so interesting because the two playing AND writing styles are contrasted so nicely on that record. Hearing them interpret the same written melody just from the perspective of the beat is so interesting (take The Red One for example). He also never really seems to want to look back and refer to his older stuff. He plays the current thing most of the time. The reunion with Beard/Grainger/Chambers was a one off oddity in that sense.
I do think Metheny is the one of those two with the long lasting wide impact because Metheny's impact goes beyond his playing. It's his sounds, his use of technology and making it mainstream acceptable within jazz, his compositional mindset and the results that delivers, his introduction of all kinds of non-jazz related styles within the jazz and improvisational idiom (pop music, Americana, folk, minimalism, etc.) and his ability to be very melodic and lyrical (his tunes are in the Real Book basically since inception of his work, that's not really the case with Sco's). In the end, Metheny is the one with the diversity in his music because Metheny is the composer of the two in addition to just being a very good player and improviser. Who else is going to give you Wichita Falls, Song X, Question and Answer, Letter from Home, Secret Story, Imaginary Day, Zero Tolerance for silence, Electric Counterpoint, Tap, and the Sign of 4?
I used to find it difficult to listen to early Scofield because of the chorused guitar sound but since he’s moved away from that I’ve enjoyed his playing much more. I think he does excellent arrangements of simple songs with interesting re harmonisation too like ‘House of Rising Sun’. The first album of his that I’d highly recommend to guitarists getting into jazz is his tribute to Ray Charles ‘That’s What I Say’ because he adds his unique improvisational style to some pretty amazing well known songs
Same here. I couldn’t stand that sound so I’ve never really listened much to him. Same with Mike Stern and Metheny. Except Bright Size Life is one of my favorite records.
Hi Jens, I love this track! There is something I noticed and I wondered what your opinion was - at around 3:15 when you describe the chords moving up Gm, I think he is actually playing the Barry Harris 6th diminished scale alternating between inversions of the drop2 Gm7(Bb6) and F#dim(D7b9) which is why it sounds so cool. That also implies you might have one note wrong - the E on the 2nd chord should be an Eb in bebop world. Do you agree? I only noticed this as I am currently immersing myself in the genius of Barry Harris. Thanks again!
That technique is actually not just something Barry came up with, it is a standard way of harmonizing melodies that is a lot older. It also isn't really something you have to consider a scale.
He is not playing F#dim, he is playing an F#m shell-voicing, you probably just want to hear the dim because you are busy with it, which is fair enough 😁
Thanks, it is true that I’m seeing Barry everywhere at the moment. Appreciate your analysis of this tune - it is one of the great guitar performances of all time (in my view) and is perfect in so many ways.
Thank you for the wonderful lesson !!!
Glad you liked it!
Serious and copious analysis by top masters, thank you.
Glad you like it 🙂
Grappig! Ik ben deze video met John Scofield sinds vorige week herhaaldelijk aan het beluisteren om Alone Together weer opnieuw te leren spelen :-).
Die is idd de moeite waard 🙂
Thank you very much for this excellent video, Jens. I completely agree that there are very few jazz guitarist that have changed the course of the genre, but I didn't think about it that way. Metheny and Scofield are among the very few making a clear imprint. I would add Holsworth to that shortlist of guitarists whose music may have influenced musicians playing other instruments.
Thank you! I don't think I have ever met anyone besides guitar players that listened to Holdsworth, so I would not say that he has had a big impact beyond guitar?
@@A--o--K That is not really the same thing though. Being an influence on one important artists in a style vs being an influence in the style are two different things (to me anyway)
@@JensLarsen You're most likely right. I'm not a musician to judge that. I had the idea that the ways he managed harmony interested and influenced musicians in the jazz fusion genre, that other musicians hired him to play in their recordings, but to be honest, that's something a guitarist told me :D
@@Cooltorpedo Well, my perspective is from someone in a Jazz environment, pretty much nobody plays fusion in my network, so it could be that he has more influence in other scenes_ and I just never hear about it, but all the people I know who listen to him are guitar players.
@@JensLarsen Yes, I guess so, that's why it's very interesting exchanging opinions. It feels kind of sad that so very few guitarists became an influence to the genre. Wondering if Django's gypsy style influenced other musicians.
What is your take on Scofield playing with Medeski, Martin & Wood?
It is not my favorite album, not even in my top 5, but it is one of the most influential albums if I look at my colleagues (and especially the non guitarist segment) 🙂
@JensLarsen agreed. I thought it was nice to hear his influence with band. Must have been a fun time for them, regardless
Sco is the best in my book!
Great video Jens!
Thanks Nick! :)
While I completely agree that there's no household-name jazz guitar record, "Undercurrent" by Bill Evans/Jim Hall should be one, though it's definitely more focused on Evans (and rightly so). That being said, Jim Hall's playing in 1962 was a game changer.
Jens, excellent solo and analysis. I never really liked Scofield before this - I may have to reconsider. I hate the processed Berklee sound. Metheny sometimes sounds like he’s playing through a wall from a different room
THank you!
Always great stuff Jens! Thank you
Glad you enjoyed!
Like Wes, Scofield has a great tone and sensibilities that appeal widely. As a few of my musical friends say, "actually listenable jazz". A bit harsh but they aren't wrong!
Yes, I have heard that one as well 😁
great way of explaining this,,, a master on a master!
Glad it was helpful! 🙂🙏
It's Scofield and Carlton for me that fits this super well!!
No doubt Scofield can play! Jens, I have a question for you. Which do you think is more important to playing a good, really good solo, The notes the player chooses to play, or the rhythms used to play them? I'm kind of thinking of a player playing a bit outside the harmony, but rhythmically tying his lines back to chord tones. I can't think of an example right now, but recall hearing players play some rather odd, outside lines, but the lines sounded great because the player knew how to rhythmically tie his lines together and it all sounded great and made perfect sense. What are your thoughts on rhythm vs. note choices?
It is not one or the other, that is often incredibly misunderstood in education.
@@JensLarsen I under stand your reply, but if one or the other element had to be deemed more important than the other, I think it's rhythm. I guess we could turn the argument around and say good melodic phrasing wouldn't sound great without cool, interesting rhythmic variations. I experiment with adding random tones to lines and find they generally sound fine provided they can be rhythmically tied into the line, or the following line. Tricky topic!
Hi Jens. Hope you can answer my primative based question:
I'm not really a jazzer but I like some ideas. So if I had a dissonant melody I wanted to harmonize (put chords to) is there an easy/preferred method? I kinda want to focus on playing than TOO much theory if possible? Thanks!
Just get better at harmonizing simple melodies then you get more freedom with more complicated ones. You don't necessarily need theory for that, but it does make it easier for most people
@@JensLarsen Ok. Thanks.
Wondering what you think of Ronald langestraat. He is a Dutch jazz artist. You might have heard of him.
Never heard of him, sorry.
Correct analysis in my opinion.
Thank you!
Hi Jens!
Please consider doing a piece on Philip Catherine.
Love your work!
If I come across something that really inspires me I will 🙂
Something about the music staff in this video changed. It looks so much better now compared to just pasting the screenshot of Musescore/Guitar Pro (or whatever you're using, anyway, what do you use?) in your past videos.
Thanks! I think we've been doing that for a few videos now actually. It only works in some cases though
Sco is God!!!
Jesus Christ is God
Would you say that Scofield and Metheny are genre-defining for Jazz as a style?
A Genius Chord Melody Approach: th-cam.com/video/RUyJQITb8eE/w-d-xo.html
Scofield and Metheny are player-defining, Frisell is genre re-defining.
@@deeohgee70 I would not say that Frisell has that much reach outside guitar compared to the other two. I would however consider them the top of that generation.
Scofield is a very good jazz guitarist, but like Metheny, he owes much of his sound to his pedalboard. In both of these players' sound, their technique entails a modified sound -chorus, delay, equalizer, etc. Perhaps that is the more innovative aspect rather than their actual musicianship.
@@guitargod6997omg. What a load of rubbish. You do realise who you’re talking about? Sco and metheny are two of the most important jazz musicians (not just guitar players) of their generation. Gee
I just learned that solo haha it’s really great
Great! 🙂
Thanks for your videos. Do you have a book or recommend a book how to learn jazz?
No, I don't. It is difficult to give too specific advice because everybody is different and at different levels, but maybe check out this post: jenslarsen.nl/how-to-learn-jazz-guitar-suggestions-to-begin-studying/
@@JensLarsen Thank you very much.
Hi ! Do you know Mike longo 's work on syncopation? Hal Garper mentioned him in One of his videos. Thanks
No, I don't know him or his work.
verey very nice video man
Glad you liked it
So I am predominantly a bass player, no matter what you end up seeing on my yt channel. I’m also a huge fan of Scofield across his whole catalog. If I were a better guitar player I would emulate him.
wow!
Charlie Christian was pretty influencial to Lester Young and other horn players
Scofield is also a great inspiration to me
Don't you think that his simpler style on this standard is because he is relying more on his ears now than playing his signature licks
Everything he plays is so melodic, even pentatonics sound like a melodic development
He was my first teacher at the new school in New York city in 1973
Wow! He was teaching there in '73? He must have been pretty young
@@JensLarsen He was in mid 20 30, I was just 18. He had the es335 too. Great time for Jazz, John McLaughlin came out and opened up the fusion world. I saw him live, amazing player.
To this day I blend my blues rock and jazz and have now found out about a hidden player named Carlos Rios, Left handed who is fusion.
Another Great Video Jens. Although in my humble opinion, with Scofield in particular or Guitar in General, Expressiveness can come from both the Articulation, Dynamics and Techniques, of the Picking Hand and, the Hammer Ons, Pull Offs, Slides, Bends and Vibrato of the Fretting Hand. Melodies that have a lot of Long Notes and Rests lend themselves to Melodic Embellishments. Although some Melodies are so Beautiful that in my opinion they should be played Straight at least the First Time in the Form. My favorite Scofield album is Still Warm. It's Scofield at his most Scofieldian. Is that a word. For anyone that's interested in more information about Sparce Voicings, check out Three Note Voicings and Beyond by Randy Vincent. Thanks.
Glad you like it! Sure the other stuff is there as well, but, to me, it is the right hand is probably what sets him apart. That he uses a lot of legato is pretty much common for a lot of players.
@JensLarsen Your absolutely right. Although in Scofield's Instructional Video On Improvisation, he talks about Picking Approximately Half of the Notes, and Legato Approximately Half of the Notes. This is sometimes referred to as 50/50 Articulation. Metheny/Scofield and many Post Metheny/Scofield Guitarists play this way. Also with Jazz Musicians just Starting Out, they sometimes want to fill a Solo with Lots Of Language. They want to Prove What They Can Do so to speak. On the other hand, a Jazz Legend Past or Present, can show a lot more Restraint, because we already know what they can do so to speak. Thanks.
@@michaelstevens8 I think Wes and Jim Hall also used a LOT of legato as well? That's where Metheny and Scofield got it I suspect.
I don't really understand the last part of your comment?
@@JensLarsenYes, Wes and Hall are Major influences of Metheny and Scofield. Although some of Metheny and Scofields Phrasing is more of a Consistent mix of Picked and Legato. You mentioned Genre Defining Impact. I believe Wes had a Genre Defining Impact on Soul Jazz/Hard Bop at least to certain extent with his Organ Trio format even though he wasn't the first. I believe he also had an Genre Defining Impact on Pop Jazz with his later Verve and A&M albums. I believe Derek Bailey had an Impact Beyond Guitar with the Free Jazz Genre, Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie have had an Impact Beyond Guitar with Third Stream Jazz and Definitely Metheny/Mays have had an Impact Beyond Guitar with their Atmospheric and Melodic Writing. Also your right about the Jazz Guitar Bubble. Jazz Improvised Single Note Lines historically come from Horn Players and Jazz Harmony historically comes from Piano Players. Thanks.
To my ears, Sco's harmonic concept comes out of Dave Leibman. If you listen to the album he did with Leibman you'll see. Also you can't leave out Abercrombie and Mick Goodrick.
If we are talking about guitarists that stepped outside of the sounds of what one might call "conventional" jazz guitar, I think Pat Martino has to be in that club too.
I wasn't really talking about that? 🙂
Joe pass made a big change in jazz guitar, with his chord melody,no one played bass lines with chords they way he did, all the possibilities he showed guitar players they had never thought off till Joe Pass,he change the way people looked at there guitars, not to take anything away from John, but he's no Joe! John said that
But that was not the point I was making, was it?
SCO
Ive never heard a thing he has played that I liked...😂
Oh well...😊
So why watch this video then? And why comment. Very odd
It's odd that Scofield can be so polarizing for so many people. That is not the case if I make a post a video about Barney Kessel.
Jazz is training your ear to accept that out of tune notes are cool as well as naming those out of tune notes!
Jjens, I didn't know you were Vietnamese 😊
6:26 contrary motion, interesting.
“They call me the Scofield kid”. “Why, you from Scofield?” - name the movie
Haha! no idea 🙂
@@JensLarsen ‘Unforgiven’ (Clint Eastwood). Best western ever made. Great solo guitar main soundtrack theme also
@@modernholyblues Thanks! Don't think I have seen that 🙂
No Dutch Bread ?? ☹
😂👍
I believe you forget the huge influence of Charlie Christian on bebop. Also fusion jazz is a part of jazz, not separate. The influence of players like Coryell and McLaughlin were huge and still being felt today.
Not really, Of course Charlie Christian was around at the beginning of Bebop, but what did he do that influenced piano players or drummers for example? Is it not more like Miles copying stuff from Ahmad Jamal and then everyone copying Miles, so even if Charlie Christian influenced Parker or Dizzy then we know it from them, not from Charlie Christian, and we don't even know what they got from him and what they did themselves.
Mikes said several times in his autobiography that he was influenced by Christian and that he felt that he phrased like a guitar player.
@@angelobranford1029 yes, but as I said above, I don't really think that is what you can call influence across the entire genre, since it is only a single person.
@@JensLarsen How are you defining influence?
@@angelobranford1029 In this case, the music of the artist is widely known and a source of inspiration across the genre.
I wonder who's Ibby sounds better??
I wonder if that is really about the guitar 😂
@@JensLarsen I never felt more inspired than on early 80s Made in Japan ANYTHING! 🤣
I like to play a little of each instrument on Guitar as opposed to just focusing on the Guitarist.
Bebop?
His earlier albums would be easier to listen to if he would ditch those pedals that he used.
I don't have a problem with that, he is almost the only one that I like that uses chorus 🙂
Django definitely influenced Jazz , don't you think ?
No, I think he mostly had an impact on guitar players.
@@JensLarsen i disagree. jazz manouche melting both jazz and music from central europe did not existed befor e django and his hot club de France. It is regarded by some as the first fully european jazz sound.
@@louishugues4106 Yes, But I think that is something else, making a subgenre is not really influencing jazz as a genre. You don't have Coltrane or Parker playing Django licks or progressions, it is pretty much isolated to guitar.
That doesn't say anything about whether it is good music it is just about the impact it had beyond guitar players.
I'd say more or less less is more...
I had a poll during the premiere and Less is in fact 86% more
Scofield is probably the best guitar player alive, along with Scott Henderson.
Jimny Bruno; Julian Lage; ...
@@EdwinDekker71 no
Tommy Emmanuel
It's funny that Scofield can be so polarizing for so many people. That is not the case if I make publish a video about Barney Kessel or Kenny Burrell.
@@JensLarsen I forgot to add George Benson. George is definitely up there. But these guys people are adding above just shows me that these people can't hear what you and me hear. While Tommy Emmanuel is a good guitar player, he is playing the same rehearsed stuff. Scofield is always improvising and coming up with stuff you've never heard before and on top of that it is very musical. His sense of rhythm is simply superb. It's on the level of Michael Brecker, like a massive freight train.
I stopped listening to Scofield because my take is that his articulation is usually weak or muddy. I can't hear well enough what he is playing.
And he bent strings
12:36 'and isnt that what's it's really all about' no, not for me. not at all, in fact. the bebop police laughed and mocked me and i cant make a single cent from my music! sad world really. the well to do mock the poor! wonderful.
im done with 'the tradition', it can eat my...
Less isn’t more, and more isn’t more either
(Just commenting on the title card)
ok scof is great but i'm surprised that you can listen to an entire album from him lol ! i cannot ! oula ! even metheny i cannot ! i must say that a cannot listen to a guitar album ! sorry for my english ! just a guitar 1 hour . aie aie aie !
Sco rules!
👍
I'd certainly say Django Reinhardt created a new style of Jazz