MStorage Code

5 lines (3 with data), 2.6 kB

While still with Miles Davis, he released the first of his Gramavision recordings Electric Outlet (1984). Still Warm (1985) followed after he left Davis's group. At the end of the Davis tenure, he started what is now referred to as his Blue Matter Band - with Dennis Chambers on drums, Gary Grainger on bass and at times either Mitchel Forman, Robert Aries or Jim Beard on keyboards - releasing Blue Matter, Loud Jazz and Pick Hits Live. The mid-80's were also the time, when Marc Johnson assembled his first own ensemble Bass Desires with Peter Erskine on drums, and Bill Frisell beside Scofield as two guitarists of distinctive but complementing styles. This �most auspicious [pairing] since John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana�[7] was only transitory and recorded just two records, the self-titled Bass Desires and Second Sight (1986 and 1987). 

At the beginning of the 1990s, John Scofield formed his quartet that included Joe Lovano with whom he recorded several important albums for Blue Note Records. Time on My Hands (1990), with Joe Lovano, Charlie Haden and Jack DeJohnette, showcased John Scofield's guitar and Mingus-influenced writing. Bill Stewart subsequently became the group's drummer, and played on Meant to Be (1991) and What We Do (1993). In 1992, Scofield released Grace Under Pressure, featuring fellow guitarist Bill Frisell, with Charlie Haden on bass and Joey Baron on drums. Stewart rejoined with Scofield and bassist Steve Swallow for the 1994 collaboration with Pat Metheny, I Can See Your House from Here.

Towards the end of his tenure with Blue Note, John Scofield returned to a more funk and soul jazz-oriented sound, a direction which has dominated much of his subsequent output. In 1994 and 1995, Scofield formed a core group that included organist/pianist Larry Goldings, bassist Dennis Irwin, and alternately drummers, Bill Stewart and Idris Muhammad. The group toured extensively, and the albums Hand Jive and Groove Elation feature this funk/groove/soul-jazz dimension in Scofield's music, bringing in tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris, percussionist Don Alias, trumpeter Randy Brecker, and others. He recorded the acclaimed 1997 album A Go Go with the avant garde jazz trio Medeski, Martin & Wood. Also during this period, his relationship began with British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage. First as a soloist on Turnage's Blood on the Floor: Elegy for Andy, the two paired up to create Scorched, Turnage's orchestrations of Scofield compositions largely form the Blue Matter period. Scorched, a recording available on Deutsche Grammophon, debuted in Frankfurt, Germany.