The John Scofield Interview

[kris]

Best interview with John I've ever seen, everyone should see it!
This is a really great interview with John Scofield:

[Gabor]

"...sound is probably everything, you know..."

a must hear how Scofield said it, around 25:10 - 25:25

[princeplanet]

That one finger solo was really cool and shows why he gets by without amazing technique - he more than makes up for it by having cool lines pour out of his mind... Great interview, which made me like Sco even more than I already did.

[Cunamara]

I appreciate Rick Beato interviewing jazz musicians on his very highly watched YouTube channel. Hopefully it helps expose more people to this music and maybe even bring in a few fans.

[kris]

John is very kind, modest and has a sense of humor - he is one of the greatest jazz musicians in the world.

[Doctor Jeff]

That is a great interview, and I have to say Rick is a VERY good interviewer--knowledgeable, respectful, and really delving into what makes the artist tick, not just asking "what's your gear, man" and "how cool was it to play with MILES" right out the gate.

He also brings an engineer's point of view to the musician's work.

Anyway, Sco is a national treasure. He's an artist I certainly wouldn't mind hanging around with.

[wolflen]

another great musician says it ..there are good nights and not so good nights..

now the trick is not letting the listeners know that..and they dont..

because for these players...a not so good night is still a great night for the audience

[Cunamara]

John is very kind, modest and has a sense of humor - he is one of the greatest jazz musicians in the world.

"Whatever I played that sucked, try and not use that…" Great last line of the interview.

[kris]

"Whatever I played that sucked, try and not use that…" Great last line of the interview.

That's why I have all of his CDs in my collection.
Wonderful man.

[Jonah]

not a fan of Rick. But these interviews he makes are just great.

And to listen to Sco is always such a pleasure.


Thank you for sharing

[blackcat]

What has Rick done to you? He has opened up my world musically.

Just wondering.

David

[Jonah]

What has Rick done to you? He has opened up my world musically.

Just wondering.

David

Nothing of course...

I do not like the style... but I also do not like musical vlogs in general, I am old school about studies ...


I like Jimmy Bruno blog though... crazy uncompromized approach

[Gabor]

another great musician says it ..there are good nights and not so good nights..

now the trick is not letting the listeners know that..and they dont..

because for these players...a not so good night is still a great night for the audience

I would argue that every gig / concert delivers the expectations, meaning sometimes there is a feel of bad nights, true my experience is coming mainly from classical concerts, not jazz gigs, because there are much more possibilities. (well in New York i would sitting in a jazz club every week)

The tricky thing is I can not decide, that my feeling comes maybe I am who had bad night, :-) the listener

[blackcat]

That is entirely your right. On the other hand, Rick has given access to icons, publicity and analysis to and of their work and has expanded the canon of available technique and theory on YT. His enthusiasm is extraordinary. I think the response of his interview subjects ( including those not normally seen to be 'easy' like eg Sting ) says it all. Mutual respect.

Now Jimmy ( whose playing I completely respect ) is another matter. His pokey approach is something else! I remember him declaring in his early video/dvd lessons that unless one was prepared to practice for five or six hours daily ( or words to that effect ) one was wasting one's time! He toned this down a little in subsequent offerings. Contrast that with Sco' noting that Wes came through in spite of having a full time job, wife and family. Can't quite see Mr Bruno conducting interviews in quite the same way somehow.

[Jonah]

That is entirely your right. On the other hand, Rick has given access to icons, publicity and analysis to and of their work and has expanded the canon of available technique and theory on YT. His enthusiasm is extraordinary. I think the response of his interview subjects ( including those not normally seen to be 'easy' like eg Sting ) says it all. Mutual respect.

Now Jimmy ( whose playing I completely respect ) is another matter. His pokey approach is something else! I remember him declaring in his early video/dvd lessons that unless one was prepared to practice for five or six hours daily ( or words to that effect ) one was wasting one's time! He toned this down a little in subsequent offerings. Contrast that with Sco' noting that Wes came through in spite of having a full time job, wife and family. Can't quite see Mr Bruno conducting interviews in quite the same way somehow.

I am not watching Jimmy a lot too... he is crazy and a bit harsh.

I understand what you mean about Rick but this modern format is just not for me. Today everything should be concise, short, as much visual as possible and so on.
I do not like how vlogs are advertised, designed, organized in general.

All these:
'Ten best intros', 'Negative harmony in 7 steps', 'Can John Lennon really play guitar?' and all with 'memes' and all.
I just don't like it... not my world.

I think modern people of younger generations got used to it: they want to watch something short, fun, to get some tips without getting too deep into that.

But interviews Rick conducts are very professional really. I appreciate it.

[Doctor Jeff]

We should be thankful for the access to these great artists we have.

Back in the day it was nigh near impossible to get detailed information from any artist. Oh there was the occasional Guitar Player interview, of course, many of which were just fanboyish and few of which gave more than a surface gleaning of technique, gear and especially playing philosophy.

I used to keep the good’uns for future reference though. They might still be at my mom’s house in a cabinet somewhere LOL.

[Christian Miller]

What has Rick done to you? He has opened up my world musically.

Just wondering.

David

I think Rick makes some really good videos.

He has some blind spots and shortcomings like everybody. For instance I feel he pretty much ignores black music - funk, R&B, hiphop etc in favour of prog rock, alt rock, metal etc. which is fine, it’s his knowledge area, but it is not ‘everything music.’

Hes also a bit limited on modern music. It’s either critiquing the top the on Spotify (albeit in refreshingly open minded way) or guitar focussed stuff like Polyphia. I’d love him to discuss artists like Laura Mvula or Anna Meredith. I think they’d appeal to him and a channel of the size of Ricks could introduce his audience to a lot of new stuff.

Hes obviously had to make concessions to the Machine - jazz content doesn’t do well, so I appreciate him squeezing in some jazz stuff including interviews like this.

I usually tune in for his WMTSG, usually fun listening and often I learn something new.

I love these interviews, they are great. Rick asks good questions.

[Christian Miller]

I am not watching Jimmy a lot too... he is crazy and a bit harsh.

I understand what you mean about Rick but this modern format is just not for me. Today everything should be concise, short, as much visual as possible and so on.
I do not like how vlogs are advertised, designed, organized in general.

All these:
'Ten best intros', 'Negative harmony in 7 steps', 'Can John Lennon really play guitar?' and all with 'memes' and all.
I just don't like it... not my world.

I think modern people of younger generations got used to it: they want to watch something short, fun, to get some tips without getting too deep into that.

But interviews Rick conducts are very professional really. I appreciate it.

im not sure Rick appeals to younger people that much.

[kris]

im not sure Rick appeals to younger people that much.

When a young person wants to learn something, he will learn it. This applies not only to the young.
The possibilities are really huge thanks to the Internet.
I'm an old fart, and this is Ric's first interview that I watched carefully to the end.

[Christian Miller]

When a young person wants to learn something, he will learn it. This applies not only to the young.
The possibilities are really huge thanks to the Internet.
I'm an old fart, and this is Ric's first interview that I watched carefully to the end.

Well there are YouTube channels I would think aa being more appealing to younger people - Adam Neely for example. But I would say there is some crossover in audiences.

[kris]

Well there are YouTube channels I would think aa being more appealing to younger people - Adam Neely for example. But I would say there is some crossover in audiences.

OK.
I am not an internet expert...but who knows.

[princeplanet]

I think Rick makes some really good videos.

He has some blind spots and shortcomings like everybody. For instance I feel he pretty much ignores black music - funk, R&B, hiphop etc in favour of prog rock, alt rock, metal etc. which is fine, it’s his knowledge area, but it is not ‘everything music.’

Hes also a bit limited on modern music. It’s either critiquing the top the on Spotify (albeit in refreshingly open minded way) or guitar focussed stuff like Polyphia. I’d love him to discuss artists like Laura Mvula or Anna Meredith. I think they’d appeal to him and a channel of the size of Ricks could introduce his audience to a lot of new stuff.

Hes obviously had to make concessions to the Machine - jazz content doesn’t do well, so I appreciate him squeezing in some jazz stuff including interviews like this.

I usually tune in for his WMTSG, usually fun listening and often I learn something new.

I love these interviews, they are great. Rick asks good questions.

While I agree with Jonah that some of Rick's videos appear a bit "click-baity", surely there can be no expectation thrust upon him to try to be all things to all people? If he has put in years of effort to get his platform to where it is, then it's his prerogative to choose his subjects and examine them through his own lens of personal experience.

It's like when Ken Burns was attacked for excluding certain styles in Jazz that still fall under some "Dictionary" definition perhaps. But Ken Burns' job was not to provide any definitive account of every aspect of Jazz, be it modern or antiquated. That's a responsibility more befitting of Govt funded archivists. I say if you write a book, make a documentary or even start a youtube platform, then it's ok to make entertainment your aim, and it's even OK to make money from it. If people don't like it, they can invest their time and money in other pursuits, or start their own youtube channel!

[Christian Miller]

While I agree with Jonah that some of Rick's videos appear a bit "click-baity", surely there can be no expectation thrust upon him to try to be all things to all people? If he has put in years of effort to get his platform to where it is, then it's his prerogative to choose his subjects and examine them through his own lens of personal experience.

Well what thrust Rick into the YouTube limelight initially is a bone of contention among a lot of younger people; but that’s one for another thread. Actually I remember it being discussed.

The channel is called ‘everything music’; Rick does present an air of authoritativeness much of which is completely justified as he is a guy who knows a lot about a wide variety of musical subjects.

But some of it is less justified, and that bothers me. He quite often voices subjective opinions as fact, for example. This is a lazy YouTuber trope and while relatively benign in Rick’s case leads to some pretty shady stuff on YouTube. It’s important IMO to present opinion and opinion. This stuff about copyright or what constitutes aesthetic criteria for good music, for instance, which centres around harmony and pitch choice.

I wouls also say I would not agree that it is at all clear Beato regards himself as making pure entertainment. On the contrary, he very clearly seems to regard himself as engaged in an educational effort. He has said this many times. So it is reasonable to evaluate his content on this basis. (After all part of my job is to recommend resources to students.)

That said my research suggests young musicians are actually very good at taking online info with a pinch of salt probably compared to older people who haven’t grown up with the internet - and boomers/Gen x’ers would tend to say that stuff anyway so it’s probably not a big deal. In fact I think he’s refreshingly open minded about modern music for someone older than 40.

When you have a platform like that I think there’s a responsibility there though. I feel it with my paltry 6K lol.

on top of that, there’s also stuff that I think he’d be really good on and I am disappointed he hasn’t covered (yet.)

[princeplanet]

Well what thrust Rick into the YouTube limelight initially is a bone of contention among a lot of younger people; but that’s one for another thread. Actually I remember it being discussed.

The channel is called ‘everything music’; Rick does present an air of authoritativeness much of which is completely justified as he is a guy who knows a lot about a wide variety of musical subjects.

But some of it is less justified, and that bothers me....

Oh no!, You mean there's an influencer out there in youtube land espousing personal opinion as fact? Outrageous! hehe, actually, that kinda thing bothers me too but we gotta give Rick a pass here, I'm pretty sure he's doing more good than harm with his voluminous content, and you can't deny that as an interviewer, he does very well at asking the kinds of questions most of us would like to hear answers to. Besides, his audience wasn't born yesterday, there can't be too many that take all his proclamations as gospel...

[James W]

There was a time when Beato's video 'Why do People Hate Jazz' cropped up among the suggested videos on my youtube. I thought that this is such a stupid and indeed objectionable topic for a video that I have never checked out or watched even one of his videos!