Sco

I’m always listening to Sco. Greatest guitarist, maybe ever. In my opinion at least. Today I was sent a video about him, by Rhett Shull. Rhett hit the nail on the head when he said Sco plays with a "sloppy, lazy, drunk feel."

Yep. And the left hand note passes under the percussive strike of his right hand in a way that literally no one else does. It’s incredible. It's like his right is locked-on and his left is totally casual. Whereas, you and I focus all our energy on left hand (fretboard) activity.

I was trying to think of a good analogy for this, for what that sounds like, and here’s the best I could come up with. It's like one foot is pedaling a bicycle (rhythmic, cyclical, and even) and the other foot is kicking off a skateboard (erratic bursts, random cycles, half cycles, and switching stances or positions).

If you get a chance to listen to John Scofield, or watch him improv with a tight band, listen to the things happening in between notes on the fretboard. It’s magical. If you never have keyed in on it, listen to the things happening in between notes on the fretboard. It’s magical.

It's like listening to a language that's made up of click consonants and breaths more than vocalizations.