As a kid growing up in 1950s Cleveland, Joe Lovano was surrounded by jazz. His father Tony — aka “Big T” — was a barber by day and a tenor sax player by night, and the family household was often filled with local and touring musicians.
Lovano, who picked up his first sax at age five, admits that such experiences can rub off on a guy, and he’s followed his own musical muse ever since.
On April 21, Lovano, now 65, will follow that muse to the Barrymore Theatre, performing with a quartet he describes as “co-led” with guitarist John Scofield,who is 66. In addition to Lovano and Scofield, bassist Ben Street and drummer Bill Stewart round out the lineup.
The evening’s playlist will feature compositions by Lovano and Scofield, both multiple Grammy Award winners, and old favorites that help stretch the notion that jazz is eternal.
“Jazz is a beautiful expression of humanity,” Lovano says. “Jazz encompasses all music and has influenced all music, something that’s still going on today.”
Lovano, who with Scofield is a Berklee College of Music graduate, also embraces the notion that the player’s instrument becomes his or her “voice.” He’s been speaking through his sax — first alto and now tenor — for nearly 60 years.
“The saxophone is amazing because of the range and different personalities that come through the instrument,” says Lovano, who plays horns produced by manufacturer Borgani. “It’s the player and not the instrument, and you can hear that voice in a piano, a guitar, a trumpet and even a bass.
“Your approach to playing determines whether you can go beyond the technical ability and reach that mysterious, melodic place that gives your instrument voice,” he adds. “The deeper you are into your musical development, the more likely it is that those qualities will come through as long as you’re reaching for them”
Lovano says reed players like Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, and Wayne Shorter all bring individual voices to their music.
“Sax has an amazing range and you can live a lifetime trying to sing through your horn,” he says. “It’s a matter of not just playing what, but how.”
Once you reach that level, and then combine your notes with those of someone else, a third musical voice can emerge, Lovano says. Miles Davis and John Coltrane each had their own individual musical voices, he says, but when they played together, they created a third voice.
Lovano and Scofield, who have played together since their days at Berklee, have embraced the same musical ethos, the sax man says.“When you’ve known each other as long as John and I have it’s a real joy to play together and hear that third voice emerge.”
The musician chuckles when asked what he’d want on his epitaph. “It should read, ‘Someone who tried to be himself through his music, embraced all things and tried to express himself through the humanity of life and relationships,’” Lovano says.
“Sharing the blessings, man.That’s what it’s all about.”