Scofield started a long-term relationship with the Verve label in 1996 with his acoustic album Quiet. He cut the funky A Go Go with Medeski, Martin & Wood in 1997, while 2000's Bump featured members of Sex Mob, Soul Coughing, and Deep Banana Blackout. Released in 2001, Works for Me featured a more traditional jazz sound, but for 2002's Uberjam and 2003's Up All Night, he was back to playing fusion. Drummer Bill Stewart and bassist Steve Swallow rounded out the John Scofield Trio for 2004's cerebral and complex live album EnRoute. In 2005, Scofield paid tribute to legendary soulman Ray Charles with That's What I Say. He featured a number of guest vocalist/musicians, including Dr. John, Warren Haynes, and Mavis Staples.
In 2007, Scofield released his debut for Emarcy, This Meets That. Once again, the set was theme-related and featured the guitarist in the company of a large horn section -- winds as well as brass and reeds -- playing original compositions as well as those from the rock and pop vernacular. Two of the more radical offerings on the album were the completely rearranged jazz-rock versions of Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors" and the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Scofield took another left turn on 2009's Piety Street. He hired Jon Cleary on keys, ex-Meters bassist George Porter, and drummer Ricky Fataar to play on a set of spirituals and gospel tunes, all done in a grooved-out soul-jazz manner. In 2010, he was the featured soloist on the Metropole Orkest's Emarcy date 54. Scofield returned to a theme-based format for his next date for the label, A Moment's Peace, a collection of ballads that ran the gamut from Gershwin to the Beatles, and included some original compositions. The set, which was released in September of 2011, featured the guitarist in the company of drummer Brian Blade, organist Larry Goldings, and bassist Scott Colley. Also in 2011, MSMW Live: In Case the World Changes Its Mind was released by Indirecto Records. The double-length set is culled from the Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood 2006 world tour; its contents reflect material off Scofield's A Go Go and the MSMW studio offering Out Louder. Over a decade after Uberjam, the guitarist rounded up some of his collaborators from that disc -- Avi Bortnick (guitar and samples), Adam Deitch (drums) and guest John Medeski -- along with Andy Hess (bass), and Louis Cato (drums), to issue Uberjam Deux in July of 2013. In 2015, Scofield released Past Present, which found him reuniting with his '90s quartet -- bandmates saxophonist Joe Lovano and drummer Bill Stewart, and bassist Larry Grenadier.
In 2015, Scofield released Past Present, which found him reuniting with the members of his '90s quartet, saxophonist Joe Lovano, drummer Bill Stewart, and bassist Larry Grenadier. A year later, he followed it with Country for Old Men, an homage to the genre that included a pair of traditional songs and a host of tracks associated with and/or by Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Shania Twain. The album landed at number four on the jazz chart and took home the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Album. Drummer Jack DeJohnette, long a resident of New York's Hudson Valley, assembled a quartet that included Scofield, Grenadier, and John Medeski, all three of whom live in or near the region. They recorded a series of originals and covers associated (closely or loosely) with the area and, to mark the occasion of DeJohnette's 75th birthday, issued the album Hudson in 2017, following the album release with a tour. The guitarist returned to his own work with 2018's Combo 66, featuring drummer Bill Stewart, bassist Vicente Archer, and pianist Gerald Clayton.
John Scofield.1977- Live
John Scofield.1978- Rough House
John Scofield.1979- Who's Who
John Scofield.1980- Bar Talk
John Scofield.1981- Out Like a Light
John Scofield.1981- Shinola
John Scofield.1983- Solar (w.John Abercombie)
John Scofield.1984- Electric Outlet
John Scofield.1986- Blue Matter
John Scofield.1986- Still Warm
John Scofield.1987- Loud Jazz
John Scofield.1987- Pick Hits - Live
John Scofield.1988- Flat Out
John Scofield.1989- Time on My Hands
John Scofield.1990- Meant To Be
John Scofield.1992- Grace under Pressure
John Scofield.1993- What We Do
John Scofield.1994- Hand Jive
John Scofield.1994- I Can See Your House From Here
John Scofield.1995- Groove Elation
John Scofield.1996- Best Of (The Blue Note Years )
John Scofield.1996- Quiet
John Scofield.1998- A Go Go
John Scofield.1999- Steady Groovin'
John Scofield.2001- Works For Me
John Scofield.2002- Überjam
John Scofield.2003- Up All Night
John Scofield.2004- En Route Live
John Scofield.2005- That's What I Say - The Music Of Ray Charles
John Scofield.2006- Saudades
John Scofield.2007- This Meets That
John Scofield.2009- Piety Street
John Scofield.2010- 54 (with Metropole Orchestra)
John Scofield.2011- A Moment's Peace
John Scofield.2013- Uberjam Deux
John Scofield.2015- Past Present
John Scofield.2016- Country For Old Men
John Scofield.2018- Combo 66
John Scofield.2020- Swallow Tales ((ft. Steve Swallow, Bill Stewart)
