John Scofield Announces New, Self-Titled Solo Guitar Album

Electric guitar legend John Scofield has announced a new, self-titled solo guitar album.

Scofield's first ever solo guitar effort, the LP will feature new versions of select numbers from his back catalog, plus solo guitar interpretations of a variety of jazz, rock 'n' roll, and even country standards.  

A spin on Buddy Holly’s formative rock classic, "Not Fade Away," and a version of Hank Williams' "You Win Again" are among the tunes on the album, which is set for a May 6 release via ECM Records.

“When I was a kid the guitar was the instrument of rock and roll and popular music, that’s what I was interested in," Scofield explained of his decision to include the '50s-era rock and country songs in a statement.

Those curious about how Scofield approaches country songs in particular can take a look at GP's two-part examination of the guitarist's harmonically sophisticated version of "Mama Tried."

Among the original tunes on John Scofield is a newly recorded take of his gorgeous ballad, "Mrs. Scofield’s Waltz," and a new version of "Honest I Do." You can hear the latter above.

“I think that there’s a delicateness that I have acquired from playing at home alone,” Scofield told the Boston Herald last year. “I am so used to playing with a slamming band, which is what I love to do, and there’s a certain muscularity to that. That went away and was replaced, I think, by, hopefully, this more delicate approach of pinpointing the beauty of the strings.”

“When I play solo, I make these little loops on the fly, I don’t do prerecorded loops,” he said in the same interview. “So I am having to respond to some music and it’s almost like I’m playing with another person.”

“I do say almost," he added, with a laugh.

For more info on the album, and Scofield's music, visit johnscofield.com.