Scofield brings new band to Denver

Jazz guitarist John Scofield performs at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts in Denver on Nov. 7. He returns the following night at the Boulder Theater. The concerts are part of his Electrospective tour, where he reworks material from his Blue Matter, Überjam, and A Go Go eras.

Scofield, a three-time Grammy winner, has spent five decades expanding the electric guitar’s role in jazz. For this project, he assembled a new group of musicians. The lineup includes keyboardist Larry Goldings, drummer Adam Deitch, and bassist Oteil Burbridge. Deitch is known for his work with Lettuce, while Burbridge has played with Dead & Company.

The tour revisits genre-blending fusion and funk-jazz tracks. Scofield approaches these compositions with a modern perspective rather than relying on nostalgia. He noted that the group’s chemistry allows them to interpret the groove-heavy material effectively.

In a recent interview, Scofield discussed the influence of his mid-1980s tenure with Miles Davis. He said that playing with Davis shaped his inside-outside approach to improvisation. Davis encouraged him to create new situations where he could not simply replicate past work.

“There’s something about when you’re doing new music, and that was what Miles was hooked on … putting himself in a new situation where he couldn’t re-create what he had done already,” Scofield said. “It just seemed to make him creative in another way. I really learned a lot [about] how to put music together from that.”