When guitarist John Scofield was a teenager, in the suburbs of Connecticut, he started taking the train into New York City to see live music. It was the late 1960s, and he fell in love with the great rock and blues acts of the era — Jimi Hendrix, BB King and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
He saw all of those groups live, and as an aspiring guitarist, he longed to do what they did. But there was one problem: he couldn’t sing.
Around this time, Scofield started to seek out new artists on his New York trips. He saw Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and Joe Henderson play live, and loved the way they seemed to sing through their instruments. He was hooked — and he has been ever since.
Now 73 years old, he’s been touring and recording with the biggest names in jazz for decades. His John Scofield’s Combo 73 will play the Musical Instrument Museum on Saturday, Sept. 20.
Talking about falling in love with the music he’s dedicated his life to performing, he once said: "What I loved about jazz was that it allowed and encouraged you to have your own voice. It sounded like humanity."
Scofield joined The Show to talk about his remarkable career.
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