Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
A Love Supreme at 60: Thoughts on Coltrane’s Masterwork
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
John Scofield in a still from a video on the making of Country For Old Men (Impulse!/Verve).
(Photo: )Following his Grammy win in the category Best Instrumental Jazz Album for his 2015 recording, Past Present (Impulse!/Verve), guitarist John Scofield is set to release Country For Old Men, an exploration of country music, on Sept. 23.
The new album, also on Impulse!/Verve, includes 12 songs, including compositions by Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard and James Taylor.
Produced by Scofield, the album will feature the guitarist alongside Steve Swallow on bass, Larry Goldings on keyboards and Bill Stewart on drums. The ensemble applies a sleek post-bop veneer to Williams’ “I’m So Lonely I Could Cry,” Parton’s “Jolene,” Haggard’s “Mama Tried” and Taylor’s “Bartender’s Blues.”
The compositions on the album span decades, ranging from “I’m An Old Cowhand”—which was written by Johnny Mercer and recorded by Bing Crosby with Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra in 1936—to “You’re Still The One,” a 1998 hit that was recorded by Shania Twain (and which she co-wrote with her then-husband and producer, Mutt Lang).
Scofield will promote the album by hitting the road from September to November for an international tour. Dates span major cities in the United States and Europe, including a weeklong run at New York City’s Blue Note jazz club (Sept. 27–Oct. 2).
Prior to the New York dates, Scofield will perform selections from the album at the Esslingen Jazz Fest in Germany (Sept. 16) and the Berklee Performance Center in Boston (Sept. 23).
Scofield, who appeared with saxophonist Joe Lovano on the cover of DownBeat’s November 2015 issue, has recorded more than three dozen albums as a leader. As a sideman, he has toured and recorded with jazz luminaries such as Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, George Duke, Joe Henderson, Billy Cobham and Herbie Hancock.
When not on the road, Scofield serves as an adjunct professor of music at New York University.
To view a trailer showing some of the recording sessions for Country For Old Men, visit Scofield’s website.
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.
Apr 15, 2025 11:44 AM
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in…
“At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”
Apr 15, 2025 11:55 AM
DownBeat has a long association with the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the premiere…
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
