John Scofield_a Go Go

Guitarist John Scofield takes the traditional jazz route on Works for Me, an excellent collection of 11 compositions that feature the all-star lineup of Christian McBride on acoustic bass, Kenny Garrett on alto saxophone, Brad Mehldau on acoustic piano, and the dynamic Billy Higgins on drums. This CD is unlike the alternative rock and funk jazz fusion on his previous efforts A Go Go and Bump. On this offering, John Scofield gives a great reassessment of straight-ahead post-bop jazz that is distinguished and stimulating. On "Big J," Scofield and saxophonist Kenny Garrett make a great team as they reach out with a call and response improvisation that engrosses the listener throughout its development…

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood - Out Louder (2007) [2CD Special Edition]
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© 2007 Emarcy / Indirecto Records | 06025 172 043-9 3
Jazz / Fusion / Post Bop / Jazz-Funk

Limited edition re-issue of their 2006 album includes a bonus six track live disc featuring 'A Go Go', 'Cachaca', 'The Tube', 'Amazing Grace', 'Deadzy' and 'What Now'.

OUT LOUDER marks the second collaboration between New York's downtown avant-groove trio Medeski, Martin & Wood and guitar giant John Scofield. The band backed Scofield on his 1997 outing A GO GO, but the results here surpass even the scintillating outcome of their first meeting. With musicianship of this caliber, however, and a collective sensibility that favors experimentation, genre-blending, and surprise, it's easy to expect great things.

OUT LOUDER serves up a respectable amount of MMW's much-loved funk-based vibe, especially on tunes like the opener, "Little Walter Rides Again," and "Tootie Ma is a Big Fine Thing," which work bluesy, New Orleans-styled grooves to crackling effect. But the vast range of the artists' taste is also evident, from Miles-inspired rock fusion to Ornette Coleman-tinged free jazz to transformed covers of tunes by the Beatles and Peter Tosh. Adventurous, textured, and accessible, OUT LOUDER is a heady and fun recording that advances the already sterling reputations of its participants.

John Scofield continued to use his Verve Records contract for unusual outings - like this one, his third release for the label, following the acoustic disc Quiet and A Go Go (which featured Medeski, Martin, and Wood). On Bump, he retained bassist Chris Wood and added Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen (the rhythm section from Sex Mob), keyboardist Mark De Gli Antoni from Soul Coughing, and drummer Eric Kalb and conga player Johnny Durkin from Deep Banana Blackout. Such sidemen allowed him to delve even more deeply into the second-line funk he had explored earlier in his career; indeed, "Three Sisters," the leadoff track, sounded like something Allen Toussaint might have produced for the Meters in the early '70s…

With John Scofield, a big part of the fun is never knowing what the guitarist will do from one album to the next. He might provide an album that is abstract and cerebral, or he might come up with something funky and groove-oriented; That's What I Say: John Scofield Plays the Music of Ray Charles is a perfect example of the latter. Featuring well-known guest vocalists who include Dr. John, Mavis Staples (as in the Staple Sisters), Aaron Neville and John Mayer, this tribute to the late Ray Charles is definitely one of Scofield's more commercial projects - which isn't to say that he shouldn't be proud of the album. Commercialism isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as it is tastefully done, and That's What I Say is a tasteful effort that finds Scofield fluctuating between instrumental soul-jazz and vocal-oriented soul…

This Meets That finds guitarist John Scofield looking both backward and forward. It's his first recording for the Emarcy label, but for the occasion Scofield resurrected the trio he'd used on several previous albums, most recently 2004's EnRoute: bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart. Never one to rest on his laurels, Scofield has throughout his career applied his virtuosity to several different streams of jazz, ranging from fusion-esque to orchestral to straight bop. This Meets That is something of a mixed bag. The opening track, the Scofield-penned "The Low Road," is a swinging funk jam that's one of several tunes on the record to employ a four-piece horn section. It's a smoker of a track, with Scofield often teasing with distortion but never straying so far away that it might be called unmelodic…

Following a series of coruscating servings of progressive uber funk for Verve, Scofield stripped down to a trio for this live session at New York's Blue Note club in December 2003. He hooked up with a pair of old friends, the terrific loose-limbed drummer Bill Stewart, and the tense, nimble bassist Steve Swallow, and the three go after each other in some often-furiously busy, driving, tangled interplay, defying the frigid New York weather of that period. Denzil Best's "Wee" gets a scorching, asymmetrical workout to start, and Swallow's "Name That Tune" promptly goes into super overdrive, with Scofield darting all over the place in his idiosyncratic way. "Hammock Soliloquy" varies between another of Scofield's irresistible, laid-back, country tunes and more combustible high-speed interplay, while "Bag" ain't nothin' but the blues with a volatile groove…

John Scofield has turned the corner from journeyman jazz guitarist to become one of the most inventive and witty players on the contemporary scene. This date, his first for the Blue Note label, builds on a discography following several recordings for the Gramavision label, and also progresses this contemporary jazz music into an individualism that can only bode well for his future efforts. Teamed with the rising-star saxophonist Joe Lovano and the bulletproof rhythm team of bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Scofield is emerging as a player of distinction on the electric guitar, and a composer whose mirthful ideas add spark and vigor to his newfound musical setting…

Meant to Be features guitarist John Scofield's 1990 pianoless quartet on 11 of his compositions. During the best selections (such as "Big Fan" and "Mr. Coleman to You") one can hear the influence of not just the original Ornette Coleman Quartet but the Keith Jarrett/Dewey Redman Quintet. Joe Lovano's increasingly original tenor sound (mixing together John Coltrane, Dewey Redman, and even Eddie Harris on this set) works well with Scofield and the tight but loose rhythm section (bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Bill Stewart). "Eisenhower" (a slightly tongue-in-cheek, boppish romp) and "Some Nerve" (which uses New Orleans parade rhythms) are also memorable performances. The colorful and enjoyable set is modern mainstream music of the 1990s, stretching ahead while holding on to the roots of hard bop, funk, and fusion.