Interesting exchange between Jimmy Leslie (writer) and John Scofield in the
Jan. 2011 issue of Guitar Player magazine. I was glad to see Sco tell it
like it is!
GP: That's a cool chord. Can you explain what you play during the
chromatic-sounding head melody that follows?
JS: There's nothing to explain. You just need to check out the notes, and
they are what they are.
GP: I know it's difficult, but can you take a shot at describing some of
the fantastic moves you make- whether they are pieces of chords, or chromatic
notes-that make your playing beyond the box, but not too far out?
JS: I won't describe them. I'm not going to oversimplify what has been my
life's work, which is to develop a vocabulary in jazz. You learn licks,
phrases, and songs, and then you try to piece together what you've learned
tastefully so that you don't sound like you are regurgitating licks. You
listen to what's going on for inspiration, and if you trust your own mind and
instinct, then you will come up with another idea... Eventually, you
realize you've said enough, and then it's time to shut up and end your solo.
Later on in the article, Scofield makes the following comment:
"I hope I didn't come across as rude when I was waxing on about how you
can't explain licks and stuff like that. It's just a pet peeve of mine. I
realize that's part of what the magazine does, but for me it's too close to
"jazz guitar in ten easy steps." I won't dumb it down because I think smart
people are going to get into it for what it is, and they want to know the
real deal. Jazz takes strong desire, and it requires a lot of practice. Once
it's ingrained, it's like a magic trick done with mirrors. You become
fluent in a certain way that's even greater than your understanding of how you
got there. People think fluency in jazz is a big intellectual thing, but
it's actually just a lot of work. You have to do the time."
Straight talk from someone who "walks the talk".
Cheers,
JV
Juan Vega
