|
The other members are just as impressive with Kenny Garrett and Brad Mehldau being the standouts. And of course the great late Billy Higgins provides the juice for this whole enterprise to groove. I happened to chance upon this cd in the library and noticed that it was one of the late Billy Higgins' last dates (the other being Charles Lloyd's "The water is wide" on ECM). The tunes are varied and well written by Sco (as Miles called him). But it is Scofield's date and one can understand why Miles fired Mike Stern in his group and kept Scofield since as he calls it, "he played enough guitar for two players". I've always dug John Scofield from the time he joined Miles in his electric period but I had never heard him in a "groove" or straight-ahead session. This really floored me and convinced me of his versatility.
Cheers, Matt He's also an extremely dynamic player with big ears. If you like jazz guitar you'll love the music on this cd. I love his tones and his melodic vocabulary seems to be endless.
Whether it's a jam band like the one he brought to A2, or this straight-ahead studio gem band, all that matters for the audience is: one, two. You want to slink around to some fat bootie-shakin' stuff - go with "Loose Canon". Now if we could just get Billy Higgins into the DB Hall of Fame, where there's been a special place of honor waiting for him for quite some time. You'll get tired of it, but she won't.
OK It's always a different line-up for each album when you're at the top of the jazz free-agency game, as Scofield is, but his adaptable songwriting remains *crucial* every time out, with something good for every mood. At 70+ minutes, this disc was my hands-down pick for the DownBeat Readers Poll Jazz Album of the Year, 2001. Talking with John Scofield after his JS Band set at the 2001 Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, the guitarist acknowledged how great it was to have finally made some sessions with drum hero Billy Higgins just before Hig left us too soon (May 3, 2001). The resulting album is one of the finest in either one of their formidable catalogs, and it keeps bubbling up to the top of this pile of Blue Notes and Ornette discs that I keep handy for remembering Billy with. You want driving, up-tempo propulsion - try "Do I Crazy.". Sco's Waltz" into a repeat loop.
Sco knows what to do. You want to harmonize parts with a Kenny Garrett solo. It's like he's setting it up for you. Everybody looks handsome. You want to mess around with a swarm of bees - there's "Hive". There's even a thinly disguised version of the standard "There Will Never Be Another You" called "Not You Again" (in true Lee Konitz fashion). The rest of the crew here is none too shabby either, namely Kenny Garrett, Brad Mehldau and Christian McBride.
I can't resist *every* time at the end of his turn on "Six And Eight". You want to have a quiet evening with the little lady - put "Love You Long Time" and "Mrs. You want to kick back to a finger-snappin' groove - there's "Big J". You want to go out for a walk - pick "Heel To Toe".
There have been a couple of albums from The John Scofield Band (2002, 2003) and while these we both very good, they were also very experimental; I've got one by The John Scofield Trio (2003) but that was a live album, and the "Trio Beyond/Saudades" project (recorded in 2004, released in 2006) was again a live album and JS was headlining with Jack DeJohnette and Larry Goldings; there was the fantastic ScoHoLoFo project (2002) with Dave Holland, Joe Lovano and Al Foster and then the "Out Louder" album (2006) was with Medeski, Martin & Wood. It's a joyride from beginning to end though once again - and I'm beginning to feel like I might possibly be a hopeless romantic trapped in a hardened cynic's body - it's the ballads I really love: "Big J" always makes me smile. In my view this is Scofield's best work in recent years. I often feel as if John Scofield hasn't released a proper album since this one in 2000. He gels with his guest artists here like they've been playing together for years. He is joined on here by the wonderful Kenny Garrett on alto saxophone, the brilliant Christian McBride on bass and the very incredible Billy Higgins on drums. I don't know if he took these guys out on the road or not but if he did, those who saw them play live would've had a great time.I sincerely hope he'll hurry up and bring out another 'proper' John Scofield album.
So while JS has given us a good deal of good music in the last seven years, for me, essentially, this was the last proper John Scofield album. And of course there's the winding and mysterious "Six And Eight". Scofield's Waltz", well, I'm just lost for words. 'Proper' as in with him playing straight-ahead jazz. And as for "Mrs.
I'm not suggesting he hasn't been very busy. I've played "Love You Long Time" so many times I can practically hum along to Garrett's beautiful solo note for note. It was via this album that I learned about Brad Mehldau and I swiftly went out and got every album of his I could find. And there's more: There was the BeatleJazz project (2005); and the Ray Charles tribute album, "That's What I Say" (also 2005 and my least favourite of the bunch) and apparently, he's featured on many other artists' albums (like Roy Hanes' 2002 album "Love Letters" for instance, which I do have), some of which I haven't even come across yet. And what an album it was too.
Recommened for anyone who enjoys good music. Straight up with excellent musicians. No electronics and no sonic freak-outs. Excellent Jazz masterpiece. On par with "A Love Supreme". Might be my dream album as well. Claims it to be a "one only dream only". This is the jazz disc I've been looking for.
|
