The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    John Scofield's long-time trio with Steve Swallow and Bill Stewart release 'Swallow Tales' on ECM on 5 June 2020. A program of all Steve Swallow tunes. CD, digital and vinyl releases.

    I've embedded below the short promo video on Vimeo and two preview tunes that are up on YouTube.









    Guitarist John Scofield celebrates the music of his friend and mentor Steve Swallow in an outgoing and spirited recording, made in an afternoon in New York City in March 2019 – “old school” style as Scofield says, acknowledging that more than forty years of preparation led up to it. Scofield was a 20-year-old student at Berklee when he first met and played with bassist Swallow, and they have continued ever since, in many different contexts.
    “I love these songs,” says Scofield of the selection of Swallow compositions explored here – a broad range including tunes that have become standards, as well as some lesser-known works. The rapport between Scofield and Swallow is evident in every moment. Scofield: “Sometimes when we play it’s like one big guitar, the bass part and my part together.”
    Behind the drum kit, Bill Stewart is alert to all the implications of the interaction. “What Bill does is more than ‘playing the drums,’” Scofield says. “He’s a melodic voice in the music, playing counterpoint, and comping, while also swinging really hard.” The guitarist himself plays with fire and invention throughout: “These two giants bring out the best in me.”
    Swallow’s compositions, Scofield notes, “make perfect vehicles for improvisation. The changes are always interesting – but not too interesting! They’re grounded in reality with cadences that make sense. They’re never just intellectual exercises, and they’re so melodic. They’re all songs, rather than ‘pieces.’ They could all be sung.”
    “Swallow Tales” opens with “She Was Young,” a tune introduced on Steve Swallow’s ECM album Home in 1979, where it was indeed sung, by Sheila Jordan. A number of the tunes addressed here – including “Falling Grace,” “Portsmouth Figurations,” and “Eiderdown” – belonged to the 1960s repertoire of Gary Burton’s groups. Scofield, who had admired them from the outset, studied them with Burton and the composer in the early 1970s, by which point Swallow had made the transition from double bass to bass guitar, creating a new voice for himself on the electric instrument.
    When Scofield launched his own recording career, Swallow was in his trio (with Adam Nussbaum on drums). Touring widely the guitarist and the bassist fine-tuned their musical understanding, a process continued in many other configurations over the years. Scofield appeared on Steve’s XtraWatt album Swallow in 1991, for instance, and Swallow is on numerous Scofield recordings – including the recent Country For Old Men, which also featured Bill Stewart. A close associate since the early 1990s, drummer Stewart had played in Scofield’s quartet with Joe Lovano, and gone on to join the guitarist in many journeys over varied musical terrain.
    John Scofield has recorded for jazz labels including Impulse, Blue Note, Verve, Emarcy and Gramavision. ECM appearances to date have been infrequent but distinguished; they include two albums with Marc Johnson’s Bass Desires group – Bass Desires (recorded 1985) and Second Sight (1987) – in which the guitarist shared frontline duties with Bill Frisell. On Shades of Jade (2004), a third Marc Johnson album, Scofield is heard alongside frequent colleague Joe Lovano. The live double album Saudades (recorded in 2004), meanwhile, features Scofield as a member of Trio Beyond, alongside Jack DeJohnette and Larry Goldings, reassessing the songbook of Tony Williams’ Lifetime. “Swallow Tales” is the first of his ECM recordings to feature the guitarist as bandleader.
    Track Listing:
    1. She Was Young | 2. Falling Grace | 3. Portsmouth Figurations | 4. Awful Coffee | 5. Eiderdown | 6. Hullo Bolinas | 7. Away | 8. In F | 9. Radio

    Line-Up:
    John Scofield, Guitar | Steve Swallow, Bass | Bill Stewart, Drums

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  3. #2

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    Swallow and Sco in conversation:


  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Litterick
    Swallow and Sco in conversation:

    I love seeing Sco play that 60's 330. This is the only video I have seen it in.

    Greatly looking forward to the new record

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lobomov
    I had a huge Scofield phase some 20 years ago especially sparked by seeing an amazing show by Trio Beyond with Jack DeJohnette and Larry Goldings. Really liked A Go Go, EnRoute, Works For Me and Quiet to single out a few records


    Tho I must admit that the last 10 year or so his output just blurs for me. Can't discern one release from the other and I've lost interest.
    It was quite the opposite for me.. I was not really his fan

    yes he records a lot.. and maybe there are no breaking-through releases but I appreciate that he is all about just playing... his releases ( are a bit like live jams ... but at the same time they are thematic, the music on every release has some general idea of this particular release.

    I like that he does not have huge ambitions like Metheny...

    As I once said: I admire Metheny, I love Frisell, but Sco is like a brother I never had

    and because of his later records I began to appreciate his earlier works

  6. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Litterick
    Swallow and Sco in conversation:

    Thx for sharing this, wonderful histories and anecdotes straight from the source.
    cheers?

  7. #6

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    I'm pretty sure this will be a fantastic album!

  8. #7

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    Every time when I listen to the tone of Steve Swallow's weird bass...

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by tele3
    Every time when I listen to the tone of Steve Swallow's weird bass...
    hm.. I like it actually

  10. #9

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    Big Steve Swallow fan here, both his playing and compositions. Sco's not bad either and as for that drummer

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
    Big Steve Swallow fan here, both his playing and compositions. Sco's not bad either and as for that drummer
    I love Steve's playing and tunes too... and his soloing is so melodious.

    That tune they play with Sco in the interview video below is fabulous and both play so fabulously.

    I miss that kind of musical interecation - I wish I could find someone to play with on such level of mustual understanding.

    the best experience in music for me was that momentary feeling that 'I live' right now' - and it was mostly about playing with others...

    It is like you suddenly realize 'Someone else really exists!" only through that experience.. all the rest is a phantom, illusion of life)

  12. #11

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    Now I know what I am going to do with my Amazon gift card!

  13. #12

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    I've been doing a deep dive on Sco recently, and I can't wait for this one. Very glad it's coming out on ECM and not Universal Music, which has been compressing the living **** out of Sco's releases for a while. For example, his quartet with Lovano...comparing the 3 early 90s records on Blue Note to the sound of 2015's Past Present, I just wonder what the engineers at Universal were thinking. It's even worse for his ballad collection A Moment's Peace, and Combo 66 suffers in the same way. Hopefully one day someone will come to their senses and remaster these things so they can breath a little and we can hear the dynamics of the band.

    Also, remember that time that Sco made an album of disco tunes from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack with Lionel Hampton?

    What, you don't? You think I'm making this up?

    I'm not making this up.

    https://youtu.be/gspU1yPC75Y?t=269

  14. #13

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    Omg!

  15. #14

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    Looking forward to this. He’s been on bit of roll lately, Past Present, Combo 66, Hudson, and this latest sound good as well

  16. #15

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    And make sure you pitch in for his documentary project!

  17. #16

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    I've been listening to this album lately and found this thread. It is a really nice album, love Scofield in a trio setting.