2009 兩廳院夏日爵士派對：約翰．史考菲 & 誠敬之道樂團

John Scofield & the Piety Street Band

基本資料

約翰‧史考菲絕對是當代爵士吉他手中，最具影響力的大師之一，在樂壇約翰‧史考菲與 Bill Frisell 、以及會訪台灣的 Pat Metheny 被尊稱為「三巨頭」(Big Three)，其獨樹一格的音色，與恣意悠遊的即興句法，早就為成千上萬現代吉他手所傳誦！ 約翰‧史考菲是筆者的老學長(早了三十幾屆吧)，同樣出自美國 Boston 的爵士樂名校 Berklee College of Music ，不同的是約翰‧史考菲在音樂的路上定的精采多了，年輕時常跟在大師們身邊巡演，如： Gerry Mullingan、Chet Baker、Billy Cobham、George Duke、Charles Mingus 以及 Gary Burton 等等，可說是一帆風順。1982年，約翰‧史考菲遇上他音樂生命中的貴人 Mile Davis ，並加入 Miles 的樂團在世界各地巡迴演出，如此亮眼的經歷，已經足以讓全世界樂迷與樂評記住約翰‧史考菲這個名字！

約翰‧史考菲也從沒辜負世人的期待，在結束與 Miles巡演的同時，他組了自己的樂團，以自己的原創音樂，在世界各地演出並錄製專輯，每年演出約200場次，至今已發行超過三十張個人大碟，受邀參與的錄音更是不計其數，其創作曲風非常多元，完全跳脫傳統爵士樂的框架，大膽地融合時下流行的節奏，如 R&B 及 Hip Hop ，與前衛的早日聲編排，產生出一種極具現代感的新融合爵士樂，每次發片，總是令樂迷驚奇！

記得筆者第一次感受到約翰‧史考菲的魔力，不是聽出來的，卻是「看」出來的！某次綵排，吉他手遞來一份約翰‧史考菲作品的樂譜，我看了半天，實在無法理解旋律與和聲的關係，筆者自身十多年的音樂經驗完全派不上用場，就連美國學校裡所教的樂理完全無法解釋他的邏輯，不論我怎麼嘗試，就是找不到和諧的音符，似乎答案全然不在這八度間的12個半音裡，在約翰‧史考菲的創作前，我像一個還不會握過筆的小孩，當然怎麼也看不僅大師演算天文星相的數學方程式！回到家中，趕緊將唱片放來聽，我才驚覺以往根本沒有聽到約翰-史考菲的實力，實在是因為約翰‧史考菲太厲害了，不論多困難的曲子，他總能一派輕鬆地用自己的語氣演奏出來，聽來一點也不勉強、不困難，這下子，每個半音又都是正確答案了，所以我一直沒察覺他的創作不是一般樂理可以理解的，從此，我就迷上他了！

2009年，約翰‧史考菲回到爵士樂與黑人靈歌(Gospel)的發源地：紐奧良尋找靈感，他與五位紐奧良在地的好手們收集了許多流傳已久的靈歌，重新編寫和聲與組合節奏後，在紐奧良當地錄音室錄製了《誠敬之道》專輯，筆者在寫這篇文章時，這張專輯台灣還未上市，但我已忍不住到約翰‧史考菲的官網上試聽，真是好聽啊！在歌手演唱的字句間，約翰‧史考菲巧妙地用藍調音符挑弄著聽者的想像力，直到他開始獨奏時，一切才恍然大悟，他又再一次成功地將新與舊的時間與空間揉合，創作出完全不受時空限制的經典(Timeless Classics)可惜網站上只有片段不夠完整，不過沒關係，我們今年只要走進音樂廳，就可以聽到最完整、最原汁原昧的約翰‧史考菲與他的紐奧良好手們，用好音樂帶我們回到爵士樂最初的感動！

 

Considered one of the “big three” of current jazz guitarists, along with Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny, John Scofield has got to be one of the most influential masters in contemporary jazz. His highly distinctive sound and stylistic phrasing in improvised music have won him numerous guitar-playing followers. John Scofield is my senior by more than 30 years at Berklee College of Music, but his musical career has been incommensurably more colourful than mine. From early on he has toured extensively with jazz superstars like Gerry Mullingan, Chet Baker, Billy Cob ham, George Duke, Charles Mingus and Gary Burton, moving swimmingly on the road to success. John Scofield met and joined the band of Mues Davis in 1982 for the world tours, a job that placed him family in the forefront of jazz music. After his Davis stint ended, John Scofield and his own groups began to perform and record original music worldwide. He has over 30 albums released and currently tours 200 days per year. John Scofield’s music has a diversity that shines “outside the box” of traditional jazz, blending R&B , Hip-Hop, and daring chorus arrangements to create a new fusion jazz sound that is distinctly modern. Every album released would set his fans on their ears. The first time I experienced the magic of John Scofield is not by ear, but with my eyes！ By chance I got hold of his sheet music, and I studied the notation for a long time, trying to make sense of the rhythm in relation to the harmony, but to no avail. My musical experience and learning was rendered completely useless before John Scofield’s composition： No matter how hard I tried, 1 could not seem to find consonant notes； it's as if the answer lies outside the octave and the 12 semitones. So when 1 got home, 1 put his record on immediately. That was when it dawned on me. John Scofield is exceptionally good！ However complex or difficult the piece of music, he always manages it effortlessly with his own styles. The melody does not sound tried or hard at all. Every note makes perfect sense when he plays it. And 1 have been a huge fan ever since. In 2009, John Scofield went back to New Orleans, the place of origin for jazz and gospel music, to seek new inspirations. He worked with 5 local musicians from New Orleans in retrieving some old gospel songs and compiled these into one album, Piety Street. I went online to have a listen before it was available in Taiwan, and boy, was it beautiful. The magic blue notes stir up listeners’ imagination, and as Scofield plunges into his guitar solo, everything was illuminate. Again he flawlessly revives these timeless classics！ The great news is that, this summer,all it takes is a ticket to the National Concert Hall, and the most authentic John Scofield and his New Orleans gang will be available to us. Audiences will return to that first moment when music truly touches our soul！

約翰．史考菲 & 誠敬之道樂團

John Scofield & Piety Street Band

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