John Scofield : Uberjam (2002)

John Scofield: Uberjam (2002)


Like his most famous employer, Miles Davis, John Scofield has had his own classic band eras. With Bill Stewart, Marc Johnson, and Joe Lovano he used his distinctive playing and compositional skills to bring a freshness to the sound of the straight-ahead jazz quartet; and on his 1987 Pick Hits Live, he and cohorts Dennis Chambers, Gary Grainger, and Robert Aries used a piercing intelligence to temper fusion's athletics. His more recent funk efforts have suffered; some from the sensitive but "grease"-deficient work of Larry Goldings and some from a general excess of politeness. Bump was an interesting, if tepid, foray into modern hip-hop grooves, but hitting the road in front of the Phish/MMW crowd has forged that sound and his road band into something to be reckoned with. It is no accident that Uberjam is credited to the John Scofield Band; the title tune was created by the members over three years of road dates. Far from being a pastiche, it demonstrates the cohesive unit that this group has become. Whether it is rhythm-guitar wiz Avi Bortnick adding Indian samples to Jesse Murphy's dub bass on "Acidhead," or former Average White Band drummer Adam Deitch laying in the phat-ist of phat grooves, it is apparent that Scofield has come up with another classic ensemble--one well equipped to take jazz into the 21st century. --Michael Ross

Track Listings
1. Acidhead
2. Ideofunk
3. Jungle Fiction
4. I Brake 4 Monster Booty
5. Animal Farm
6. Offspring
7. Tomorrow Land
8. uberjam
9. Polo Towers
10. Snap Crackle Pop

    John Scofield - electric guitar
    Avi Bortnick - rhythm guitar and samples
    Jesse Murphy - electric bass
    Adam Deitch - drums
    John Medeski - B3 Organ (tracks 1,2,5,9), clavinet (tracks 1,5,) and mellotron (tracks 1,9)
    Karl Denson - flute (track 2) and saxophone (track 9)

Chris Potter: Unspoken (1997)

Chris Potter: Unspoken (1997)

Twenty-seven year old reed man Chris Potter made a big splash on his 1992 debut as a leader for Criss Cross. He showed remarkable promise not only in tenor sax work, but also on alto, soprano, bass clarinet and alto flute. On this one he sticks to tenor and soprano, but his playing is no less fluent and capable. An all-star lineup joins the former Steely Dan and Joe Henderson sideman for this date: John Scofield on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. All four are in top form for this album, which manages to be warm, smooth, inviting, and adventurous all in one package.

Potter shows that he's been doing his homework. "Wistful," the opening track, veers perilously close to Coltrane Imitator Wasteland, but Potter skirts the edge of homage without lapsing into slavish regurgitation. "Hieroglyph" recalls Coltrane on soprano, complete with a tasty proto-world music ostinato from Holland, but again, Potter's playing is fresh and involving. "Seven Eleven," on the other hand, makes you wonder if Chris was digging into his Ornette collection. Then "Amsterdam Blues" starts with an unaccompanied tenor of such quality that I became sure I'd find some of the works of Mr. Sonny Rollins over at Chris's house. Still and all, Potter is a player of enormous talent who is already far along in synthesizing these and other influences. This is a fine album, but I'll bet I'll like his release of 2007 even better.

The highlight here is "Et Tu, Brute?", the album's most striking track. Scofield contributes some scalding guitar licks to a rhythmically complex workout requiring some careful listening by the quartet. Of course, these guys are old hands, and they come through. With no loss of energy, the lovely title track follows, featuring some tasty arco by Holland and passionate playing by everyone. "Time Zone" is as far out as this one gets, with some remarkable variations of mood and tempo a free section of great vigor. Potter is clearly the star here, proving he's worthy of the company he keeps.

The legendary trumpeter Red Rodney loved this "kid:" "This kid is exactly what I like to hear in a kid. He sucked up everything like a sponge, but his sound is original; his articulation is different from anybody; his harmonic knowledge is profound." Red was right. The kid has a great tone, great chops, and by the way, he wrote all the tunes. While this is relatively common these days, Potter's tunes show a wealth of good sense, imagination, and care. He's paid attention to architectonics, and it shows.

Unspoken is a solid album from start to finish. 

1-Wistful

2-Seven Eleven

3-Hieroglyph

4-Amsterdam Blues

5-Et Tu, Brute?

6-Unspoken

7-No Cigar

8-Time Zone

9-New Vision

Chris Potter (woodwinds, soprano & tenor saxophones)

John Scofield (Guitar)

Dave Holland (Bass)

Jack DeJohnette (Drums)

John Scofield: Bump (1999)

John Scofield has always been a jazz improviser in funk-rocker's garb, from his days at Berklee College of Music to his three-year stint touring and recording with Miles Davis in the '80s. He follows up his much-acclaimed Medeski, Martin & Wood collaboration A GO GO with another all-star groove fest that burrows ever deeper into the funk.

Scofield spins a rainbow of tone colors from his electronic trick bag while his guests-Medeski, Martin and Wood bassist Chris Wood, Soul Coughing sample wizard Mark De Gli Antoni, and the rhythm sections of jam band faves Sex Mob and Deep Banana Blackout--keep the big beats flowing. "Three Sisters" and the stuttering "Drop & Roll" are Crescent City soul struts peppered with wah-wah, digital delay and the guitarist's axe run through a Leslie organ amp. And for a little Latin flavor, Scofield kicks it with a seductive, samba-fied trio on "Swingnova."

Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, New York in 1999.

Personnel includes: John Scofield (acoustic & electric guitars); Mark De Gli Antoni (keyboards); Tony Scherr, Chris Wood (acoustic & electric basses); David Livolsi (electric bass); Eric Kalb, Kenny Wollesen (drums); Johnny Almendra (bongos, congas, tambourine, percussion); Johnny Durkin (congas).

01. Three sisters

02. Chichon

03. Beep beep

04. Kelpers

05. groan man

06. Fez

07. Blackout

08. Kilgeffen

09. We are not alone

10. Swinganova

11. Drop and roll

12. Kilgeffen (reprise)

John Scofield - Quiet (1996)

John Scofield - Quiet (1996) 

John Scofield didn't even own an acoustic guitar when Pat Metheny brought along a pair of them for the guitarists' 1993 duo session, "I Can See Your House From Here". Scofield was so intrigued by the experience that he went out and bought his own nylon-string instrument, spent hours playing it and ultimately composed eight pieces especially for his new plaything. Those eight tunes (plus a ninth by producer Steve Swallow) comprise Scofield's album, aptly entitled Quiet. Scofield was too smart to simply transplant his electric-guitar techniques--which rely so heavily on distortion and attack--to the acoustic instrument. Instead, he took advantage of the nylon strings' intimacy and responsiveness to compose romantic melodies and play them in a clean, understated style.--Geoffrey Himes

Tracks

1 After The Fact

2 Tulle

3 Away With Words

4 Hold That Thought

5 Door #3

6 Bedside Manner

7 Rolf And The Gang

8 But For Love

9 Away

Personnel

    John Scofield - acoustic guitar

    Lawrence Feldman - flute, alto flute, tenor saxophone

    Charles Pillow - alto flute, English horn, tenor saxophone

    Wayne Shorter - tenor Saxophone

    Roger Rosenberg - bass clarinet

    Randy Brecker - trumpet

    Fred Griffen - french horn

    John Clark - french horn

    Howard Johnson - tuba and baritone

    Steve Swallow - bass

    Bill Stewart and Duduka Da Fonseca - drums

    Additional instruments are French horns and woodwinds

John Scofield: Works for Me (2001)

JOHN SCOFIELD. WORKS FOR ME (2001)

Track listing

    I'll Catch You
    Not You Again
    Big J
    Loose Canon
    Love You Long Time
    Hive
    Heel To Toe
    Do I Crazy?
    Mrs. Scofield's Waltz
    Six And Eight
    Freepie


Personnel:
John Scofield: guitar;
Kenny Garrett: alto sax;
Brad Mehldau: piano;
Christian McBride: bass;
Billy Higgins: drums.

Since 1997’s A Go Go, which featured the backing of Medeski, Martin & Wood, John Scofield has been increasingly pigeonholed as a sage of the burgeoning "jam band" movement. But the guitarist has been blending post-bop and a more rock/funk-oriented style even since his earliest recordings, and he’s always had the uncanny ability to sound like himself no matter what kind of music he’s playing. "It’s because I only have a few licks," Scofield once modestly quipped to this writer.

Works For Me is his first "straight-ahead" record in a while. It couldn’t be more of a departure from last year’s Bump, which featured members of Soul Coughing, Sex Mob, and Deep Banana Blackout and marked Scofield’s first use of samplers and other electronic instruments. Now the pendulum swings back to jazz, as Scofield enlists Kenny Garrett on alto, Brad Mehldau on piano, Christian McBride on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums.

Sco’s nasal, slightly overdriven sound and behind-the-beat phrasing are of course ever-present. Mehldau gives the new batch of originals a harmonically advanced dimension, recalling the late 70s partnerships Scofield cultivated with pianists Richard Beirach and Hal Galper. (This, by the way, is Mehldau’s second sideman appearance with Higgins, following Charles Lloyd’s The Water Is Wide. ) Scofield’s guitar and Garrett’s alto blend very effectively on the heads, particularly toward the end of "Big J," when the two take a melodic fragment up an octave, shouting it over a soulful vamp. Their interplay is also fun on "Heel to Toe," during which they trade eight- and then four-bar statements in a spirited joust.

The "groove" and "jazz" elements of Scofield’s music come together most effortlessly on "Loose Canon." McBride begins the piece with a three-bar bass riff that becomes the basis for the A sections. The B section breaks into a swing feel, setting in motion the album’s most inspired melodic and harmonic passage. Scofield and Garrett solo over an extended A, Mehldau an extended B. (The rotation is guitar, piano, alto.) Here, as well as on the leadoff track, "I’ll Catch You," we have the best of both worlds: a groove tune without the repetitiveness of much of the stuff on Bump, but also a jazz tune that is not at all staid or predictable.