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Artist Profiles
Remembering Scott Sherwood
Peter Cobb
Attorney turned jazz saxophonist now residing in New York City.
The last time we played was about three weeks before he passed. He was in the hospital and had just received his new custom-built guitar that he had ordered many months earlier. He had lost a lot of weight and could no longer speak. But somehow—with the help of his family to find a way to hold it—he got the guitar out and found the will to play. I have no idea what reserve he must have tapped to do so, but he just kept playing—we ran standards that we had played many times before and he still found new ways of interpreting them and motivating me, taking me directions I had never been musically. He was even asking whether I found the timbre of the new guitar easy to mesh with... So I guess that is something else I will never forget. Because even through horror of medications and operations and injections in a fight against an incredibly cruel disease, Scott found the strength to stand up and say—through his actions—enough already. You can take this all away from me, but you will not take who I am and what I love or the music I've worked so hard to build. I am Scott Sherwood, and I am a jazz guitarist no matter what...
He played his ass off. And on that day at least, he beat that disease.
I could go on forever—we all could. There are so many stories. So I'll exercise a little self-restraint. And I know that when a person dies the accolades pour in, and everyone says what a great guy/gal he/she was. Put that aside. Scott Sherwood was the real deal in every sense. Most of you reading this will never know his personality, and I am truly sorry for that because he was different than the rest. But you can listen to his music which was so much an expression of him, and maybe you can listen closely enough to hear the man behind it. You'll know it if you do, because you'll walk away like I always did... just a little lighter than before. Goodbye, my friend. You were there when I most needed a friend, you will always be with me, and I'll make sure that I finally get your songs right.
There will be a musical memorial service for Scott on November 7th at the Turtle Bay Music School. Contact them for more information if you would like to attend.
