- Title: Donald Trump is unqualified to lead any country, says jazz guitarist John Scofield
- Date: 17th November 2016
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAZZ GUITARIST JOHN SCOFIELD SAYING: "My main motivation is money. No, no, I'm joking, that's not true. Although this is how I make my living. And you know? There's no jazz musician whose into it for the money, there are better ways to make money. My motivation is I like to improve, because I'm still practising and I know enough about jazz to know how good it can be."
- Embargoed: 2nd December 2016 13:32
- Keywords: John Scofield Jazz Music Madrid Spain Donald Trump Internet Festival
- Location: MADRID, SPAIN
- City: MADRID, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Art,Arts/Culture/Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA00558U2C85
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: United States jazz guitarist John Scofield and his band performed at the Teatro Fernan Gomez in Madrid on Wednesday (November 16) during Madrid's International Jazz Festival
Scofield's quartet, which is currently on a one-month European tour, visited the Spanish capital to present their new record 'Country for Old Men'.
The guitarist explained to Reuters TV that he has always been a fan of country music, which is why for his new album he decided to take some classic country tracks and give them a jazz feel.
"I decided to play country tunes, which I have always been aware of and I've been a little bit involved in country music my whole life, just as a fan. And I wanted to take them and play them on the guitar because I love the singers, but also to turn them into jazz," Scofield said.
Scofield's new quartet are made up of Steve Swallow on bass, Larry Goldings on piano and organ, and Bill Stewart on drums. The line-up is a change from his previous 2015 album 'Past Present' which he made with Grammy-winning composer and saxophonist Joe Lovano.
Born in Ohio, raised in Connecticut and resident of the New York's suburbs, Scofield was in Europe on the day the United States elected Donald Trump as their new president.
"I had a nightmare, actually the nightmare was that I was going to jail and then I woke up and thought 'Oh! it was only a dream'. And I put on CNN and the worst nightmare happened for me because I think this guy (Donald Trump) is unqualified to lead a country, any country. It's a business man and a television... a bad television show star. So I'm very sad," Scofield said.
Asked about the role of Internet in the music business, the guitarist said that while music has been benefited by the digital era, it means the end of the CD and DVD sellings.
"If some young musician like myself when I was young wants to study my music, they can go to Youtube and they can immediately see twenty one-hour long concerts from different places I've played, that are televised and with a really good quality. That's really great but it also means the end of selling your music (laughs) as far as CD or DVD is concerned. And that was a nice one we made money of that. Luckily, people still want to come to the concerts," he said.
As a professional musician, Scofield has recorded over 40 albums and played along with jazz legends like Miles Davis, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Herbie Hancock, Medeski, Martin & Wood or Bill Frisell, amongst others.
Already a jazz legend, Scofield has kept an open mind musically - mixing traditional jazz content with funk-oriented electric sounds - reaching a variety of audiences in the jazz, rock and classical realms. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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