John Scofield and His Guitar

John Scofield is a three-time Grammy Award winner and one of the principal innovators of modern jazz guitar. Suffolk Theater presents “John Scofield: Solo Guitar” on Thursday, April 6, at 8 p.m.

John Scofield’s guitar work has influenced jazz since the late 1970s and is going strong today. As a masterful jazz improviser, Scofield has earned three Grammy Awards and four Grammy nominations for his distinctive sound and stylistic diversity that generally falls somewhere between post-bop, funk edged jazz, and R & B. Now, he adds yet another credit to his resumé: solo guitar.

Born in Ohio and raised in suburban Connecticut, Scofield took up the guitar at age 11, inspired by both rock and blues players. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. After a debut recording with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, Scofield was a member of the Billy Cobham - George Duke band for two years. In 1977 he recorded with Charles Mingus, and joined the Gary Burton quartet. He began his international career as a bandleader and recording artist in 1978. From 1982 to 1985, Scofield toured and recorded with Miles Davis, placing him firmly in the foreground of jazz consciousness as a player and composer.

Since that time, he has prominently led his own groups in the international Jazz scene, recorded over 30 albums as a leader (many already classics) including collaborations with contemporary favorites like Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Eddie Harris, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Bill Frisell, Brad Mehldau, Mavis Staples, Government Mule, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano and Phil Lesh. He’s played and recorded with Tony Williams, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Dave Holland, Terumasa Hino among many jazz legends. Throughout his career Scofield has punctuated his traditional jazz offerings with funk-oriented electric music. All along, the guitarist has kept an open musical mind.

“My main focus in guitar playing has always centered around being part of a group; exploring the music that happens when musicians listen to each other and improvise together,” said Scofield. “Quite frankly, until now, I’ve avoided playing solo concerts and before starting this endeavor had done only one solo performance in public since I was a child. I still have occasional nightmares about playing ‘Greensleeves’ for my sixth grade class. It gets pretty lonely up there by yourself and I hadn’t considered solo guitar as the perfect platform for improvising. Not to mention that I’m no Segovia either.

“All that said, after playing guitar for 56 years, I’m finally interested in going it alone and exploring the possibilities,” he added. “It’s taken me decades to realize that I’ve been playing unaccompanied guitar at home or in hotel rooms every day since 1962. I’ve put a lot of thought in lately to how I can present an evening of solo guitar that represents my passions and sensibilities. My idea is to keep it song based, playing jazz, country and rock tunes that I love as well as some of my original compositions. I plan to employ my Looper pedal occasionally when I want to play over myself. I’ve been preparing for nearly a year, working my brain in new directions while looking forward to these shows with excitement and a small bit of trepidation. I hope you enjoy being on this journey with me.”

Tickets for “John Scofield: Solo Guitar” are $35 to $65 at thesuffolk.org. Suffolk Theater is at 118 East Main Street, Riverhead.