John Scofield

John Scofield has been a dominant figure in mainstream jazz since the 1980s, developing a reputation as one of its most influential and adaptable guitarists. Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1951, he graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1973, when he straddled the divide between post-bop and fusion, playing with Charles Mingus before joining the Billy Cobham-George Duke Quartet. He later worked in bands led by Gary Burton and Miles Davis. In the early ’90s, he settled into a sophisticated post-bop sound, particularly in a quartet featuring saxophonist Joe Lovano. Later he forged a groove-oriented style, working with Medeski, Martin & Wood and becoming a fave on the jam-band circuit. Since the late 1990s he’s toggled between these related approaches, his striated tone and liquid phrasing putting him in the company of Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell as the most influential guitarists of the late 20th and early 21st century. In 2020 he made his first solo recording for ECM after lengthy partnerships with Blue Note and Verve.