Years ago, guitarist John Scofield literally rocked the sold-out Sono Centrum with his remakes of the biggest country hits. Now he returns to the scene with a fresh repertoire, in which he takes well-known musical hits from his youth.
An artist who can play more than one style of music with real fluency, virtuosity and sincerity is a very rare breed today. A look at Scofield's discography is astounding, his stylistic range uncanny. Judge for yourself: mainstream, jazz-rock period, his playing in Miles Davis' band in the early 1980s is well known and highly regarded. Collaborations with Joe Henderson, Joe Lovan, the engaging big band album Quiet with Wayne Shorter, jazzed-up hits with Herbie Hancock's the New Standard project, interpretations of Ray Charles' compositions, excursions into the world of gospel with the Piety Street Band and the mentioned Country for Old Men are just as high. with whom he visited JazzFestBrno in 2016 to show fans what can be done with often simple country songs.
The latest addition to Scofield's already diverse portfolio is a project called Yankee Go Home. “The name is kind of a pun to me that we 'Yankees' are taking over the music of our homeland. This band plays Roots-Rock-Jazz, which is one way to define it, although, to be honest, I hate doing it!” says the three-time Grammy winner. The concept of Yankee Go Home consists of covers of Americana and rock hits and jazzed-up folk songs, which complement selected Scofield original compositions written in this spirit. Scofield reconnects with his teenage rock'n'roll roots, which he naturally colors with his fifty years of jazz practice. Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Grateful Dead, Sting or Leonard Bernstein - that's just a brief list of Scofield's sources of inspiration. The band consists of Jon Cowherd, keyboardist Cassandra Wilson, bassist Vicente Archer, known for example from his collaboration with Robert Glasper, and drummer Josh Dion. “These guys are remarkably versatile, just as good as it gets when it comes to interactive, creative gaming. We explore rock, funk, country and jazz and have a blast doing it,” adds Scofield.
