Guitarist Scofield, 56, is one of the top guitar players on the current jazz scene and saxophonist Lovano is a Grammy-winner for his 2000 album 52nd Street Themes.

Scofield, who has worked with greats such as Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, told Life! in a telephone interview recently that he is looking forward to his show here with Lovano, a long-time collaborator whom he first met when both were studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Their earlier collaborative effort, ScoLoHoFo, was one of the most popular jazz bands in the 1990s.

He is full of praise for the saxophonist. 'He's got such a beautiful feel, we never had a problem playing, it's just something that happens. We have a similar concept and when we play together, it's just easy.'

Scofield might be one of the current jazz scene's most celebrated players, but he resents being called a jazz purist.

'All I try to do is play as good music as I can play and not worry about what kind of music it is,' he says.

The 56-year-old American was not even into jazz when he first learnt to play guitar at the age of 11.A rock 'n' roll and blues fan then, the first song that he learned how to play was House Of The Rising Sun made popular by British 1960s group The Animals. Incidentally, he recorded a version of that song on his last album, This Meets That, released last year.

Scofield says that it was a natural progression for him to move on to jazz from rock music as his musical tastes widened.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times Life!