In the groove

John Scofield messes with the elements

by Jim Macnie

John Scofield's recent shows have been edge-of-your-seat affairs. The guitarist and his band are experts at sustaining tension while zigzagging around their tunes, effectively playing a shell game with pop melodies, R&B tempos, and jazz improvisation. The twists are steadily exhilarating, and the process reminds us that no music is more pliable than jazz.

The material they leap through comes from Scofield's latest outing, A Go Go (Verve). He cut the disc late last year with Medeski, Martin & Wood, the experimental space funk trio that has gained mucho ground with young pop fans over the last few years. Stretching out is nothing new to the guitarist -- he's long been an expert at negotiating snaky grooves. But this chank-a-chank little studio session with MM&W ranks with the best stuff he's ever recorded. Together, the foursome mess with the music's elements, mixing foreground and background, creating a compact sound built on sinuous threads of action. The process is without fissures, making the guitarist seem an integral part of the band rather than the boss du jour. In a way, A Go Go's 10 tunes could be considered postmodern jukebox songs -- an unholy pairing of the MG's and the Meters. Drop in your quarter, and stand back for a big shot of swirling syncopation from the future.

The touring band -- organist Larry Goldings, bassist James Genus and drummer Bill Stewart -- is just as tight and a bit more limber than the record's group. Compared to MM&W, it brings a smidgen more swing to the material. "I wouldn't want to play with any funk drummer who couldn't swing," says Scofield, and Billy Stewart is a swinging guy all the way. He's the best of both worlds. On stage a couple of weeks ago, the leader proved he could make incremental moves add up to intimidating statements. Scofield, whose last disc, Quiet, cast his guitar improvs in tender orchestrations, continually refines the way he strategizes a solo. Cunning is always involved.

I spoke with Scofield about writing, rapport, and a little thing called unk-fay.

Q: You have a few ongoing bands.

A: I change around a lot, yeah. I make decisions based on where I want to go musically, and who seems to be into it. You write stuff, think about who'd play well, pick them, and then rewrite to fit them better. And that's the nice things about having flexible music.

Q: Some people rearrange their core book to fit personalities, as you say, but you're steadily coming up with new pieces.

A: I guess I do. And it's weird, because I don't see myself as a writer. I'm not trying to be disingenuous, because I actually know I'm okay. Maybe I just respect composition too much. Writing is a pain in the ass, basically. I have much more fun playing the guitar. I'm a composer because I need material. Standard jazz tunes and all that -- stuff I really love -- have been done so much . . . arghh! And pop tunes from the recent era don't lend themselves to playing as much as the older stuff from Tin Pan Alley. So you write. If you've got a band, you or someone else writes. And I'm too specific about what I want to let other people do it.

Q: Your compositional forte is melody. Rather than an arranger of voicings and moods, you're like a jukebox hit maker.

A: Hey, that's the whole thing of jazz being over intellectualized. It's like the idea of real fast out shit being better than slow melodic stuff that somebody might remember. That kind of mindset doesn't mean anything to me. It's a music school attitude. You learn about melody as an infant. Then you learn how to play an instrument and get technically adept at it, and become exposed to more complicated kinds of music. Then you attain technique, flexibility and musicianship -- play fast and hear fast and understand complicated stuff and be smart. Whew! But that doesn't mean complicated is good. I think this is a big problem with jazz. I like to take a step back and get into what I really dig. And you know what? Most of my heroes were melody guys!

Q: The new record is a good example. The heads are all little ditties in a way and they stand tall by themselves. Why shouldn't that be as respected as scripting the stuff for Quiet?

A: There you go. Why shouldn't it? When I was writing for this album I was trying to come up with stuff that would set up a mood and give us something on which to blow. Like the tune "A Go Go" is a simple riff, but it sets up a lot of action. We took it and went somewhere. When you write something that's complicated, it's possible that nothing's left to say. That nothing gets quite as good as that head or the improv never lives up to the start. What happened on "A Go Go" was certainly an elaboration and maybe an improvement upon on the theme. The simple melody gives you something to refer back to in the solo. That's what I love about simple stuff. You could almost make a rule about it. Start simple. Medeski, Martin & Wood are great at taking something and putting a vibe on it. They did it with my songs -- as a unit they gave them a slant. There's something they're going for; they're not just jamming. Even though there's freedom in it, they give it a character. You've got to write something that allows that to happen. Otherwise it would be a waste to give them stuff to play. Interpretation is everything.

Q: These tracks are pithy. Nothing lasts too long. Instead of excursions, everyone drives towards the center of the tunes. So the soloing avoids the structural cliches of typical solos. These tracks are little webs of sound.

A: That's good! Part of it is the vamp thing. Part of the nature of vamping is playing simple forms that are rhythmically inspired. The drum 'n' bass parts are as central to the pieces as the voice on top is. The guitar solos aren't going to make it unless the drums go somewhere and the bass has its fill. Here, the comping is equal to the soloing.

Q: Why do you think the funk-jazz sound -- Medeski, Martin & Wood in particular -- is happening so thoroughly these days?

A: Because of the groove. Nothing new there. When Miles played with a backbeat, people listened more. It opened up a lot of stuff. We all know a lot of people who like to move and groove, and you really can't do it to Coltrane. Well, I can; I dig swing. But I love rock and roll, too, and I understand the rhythmic allure of that music. And maybe I'm wrong, but I think that's why first-timers will like MM&W. A lot of people out there want to like jazz . . . in concept.

Q: In huge situations like the Newport festival, first-timers are always looking for a leg up, a way to dig the music, and that's funk. You played Newport with Miles during the funkier days.

A: Yeah, and you know what? The first-timers do get into it. They were hearing Miles playing -- had to be somewhat happening. That's why Kenny G's not happening, but why Miles's stuff was. He was real serious about playing that backbeat music and making it happen for him. And when it's happening it's some bad shit. And when it's not, it's not. And he assigned the same jazz parameters to the stuff we played, and people responded. And I think they responded differently to Miles's stuff than they did to . . . Spyro Gyra. The vibe was there. The same fans maybe liked both. I'm just saying that jazz-rock can be really great.

Q: This is a big part of who you are. You always come back to funk.

A: It's been there since the beginning. I hated bubblegum music and loved James Brown. And the Rolling Stones, there are elements in there I dig. Funk and backbeat is natural to jazz and improv. Being a guitar player and knowing the blues and B.B. King and all that stuff . . . I sat around listening to Trane and Parker and knew that was swing, and if you put a backbeat on that, it fucked it up. Right? And I wanted to be a jazz guy and learn about that. But I had the fortune of growing up during the fusion era and playing with Billy Cobham when the Brecker Brothers were in the band, and Miles, and Herbie Hancock, and hearing the Headhunters and Weather Report in their greatest years. So that it became a big part of my vocabulary. That stuff is the happening jazz-rock, and in many ways, it is related to bebop.

John Scofield will perform at Lupo's on Wednesday, June 3.