Tag Archives: petererskine
The John Scofield Interview: Sco in the 1980s, from Miles to Blue Matter
You could put forward a pretty good case that John Scofield was THE guitarist of the 1980s. Probably best known for his incendiary playing in Miles Davis’s band between 1982 and 1985, he also enjoyed a distinguished solo career. Whilst focusing on straightahead jazz during the early part of the decade, his stellar ‘fusion’ period […]
Lyle Mays: Street Dreams
I was a fan of most things jazz/rock as a teenager, scuttling off to HMV or Virgin in central London to buy the latest John McLaughlin, Mike Stern, Steps Ahead, John Scofield, Bireli Lagrene or Miles. Whilst Pat Metheny was never a favourite, I dug American Garage and 80/81, and always had a soft spot for […]
Book Review: Elegant People (A History of the band Weather Report) by Curt Bianchi
‘The baddest shit on the planet’ – that was Weather Report keyboard player/co-founder/chief composer Joe Zawinul’s assessment of his band’s music. He wasn’t alone – many credit them as the greatest jazz/rock unit in history, pretty impressive considering they developed out of a ‘scene’ that also included The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever and Herbie […]
Album Review: Truth, Liberty & Soul by Jaco Pastorius
Even as the streaming revolution sweeps all before it, there are a few aspects of physical music that seem to be thriving: vinyl and the ‘historical discovery’. Bass superstar Jaco is now a worthy recipient of both, courtesy of Truth, Liberty & Soul, a complete gig recorded at the Avery Fisher Hall in New York […]
Will Downing’s Jazz Odyssey
Will Downing’s string of three fantastic albums from 1990 to 1995 (A Dream Fulfilled, Love’s The Place To Be and Moods) are almost completely forgotten now – a real oversight. Downing came out of the New York mid-’80s session scene, singing on countless jingles and short-lived studio projects, but hit on a formula of sorts […]
DVD Review: Jaco
It’s somewhat surprising that it’s taken so long for a major doc about Jaco Pastorius to be released. There have been major biographies of the bass master before – Charles Shaar Murray presented a spirited two-part tribute on BBC Radio, while Bill Milkowski’s book was exhaustive and well-researched but controversial in its unflinching detail. Then, […]
Rescued From The Vaults: Weather Report’s Mr Gone
Dateline 1977: After seven years of hard work with a serious album/tour itinerary and drummer issues to rival even Spinal Tap, Weather Report, the legendary jazz/rock band led by keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, finally hit gold. They had a dynamite new bass player in Jaco Pastorius, a US FM radio community that […]
Sounds Of Surprise 