Jazz Articles about John Scofield

John Scofield Trio: EnRoute

by John Kelman
May 23, 2004

Some artists are revolutionary, making periodic stylistic leaps that herald in a completely new direction or approach. Others are more evolutionary, with a gradual development that often unfolds over a number of years. John Scofield clearly falls in the second camp; while the context of his albums may vary wildly from one to the next, the actual meat of his style has matured at such a slow and steady pace that differentiation over the short term might be difficult to ...

John Scofield Band: Up All Night

by Farrell Lowe
October 6, 2003

The Freaky Deaky is back! This is the most inspired playing I have heard from John Scofield in many years. On Up All Night, Scofield has found the elusive spot (as a player) between knowing what he's doing and what he doesn't know. The band caught at the time of this recording exists at that junction--a place beautifully balanced between solid compositional form and sheer improvisational grace. Scofield hasn't been this hungry in a long, long time!

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A Fireside Chat With John Scofield

by AAJ Staff
January 31, 2003

A bird told me that John Scofield would be touring with old friend and band mate, Joe Lovano, Al Foster, and Dave Holland. That was a handful of years ago. Logistics, being that it was a European tour, made it difficult for me to catch the band live. Thankfully, Blue Note recorded the band and that recording, OH! , is not a live recording, but it might as well be. It has all the verve and spontaneity of a live ...

John Scofield Band: Uberjam

by David Adler
February 1, 2002

Depending on your point of view, John Scofield is either hopelessly unfocused or boldly unpredictable. In 1999 he released Bump, a provocative yet ultimately perfunctory, jam-band-meets-electronica statement. Last year he did a 180 with Works For Me, a straight-ahead quintet offering featuring the likes of Brad Mehldau and Kenny Garrett. Now he returns with Uberjam, a project billed under the name of The John Scofield Band, and surely Scofield's most radical departure from jazz yet.Avi Bortnick, on rhythm ...

The John Scofield Band: Uberjam

by Steve Robinson
February 1, 2002

The opening seconds of “Acidhead, the first track of guitarist John Scofield's latest recording, Uberjam, are enough to alert the jazz purist that the road ahead might be bumpy. The tune opens with what sounds like a sitar""but with all the electronics on this recording, it could be a sample, a keyboard, or Scofield's guitar""soon giving way to a seriously funky groove laid down by drummer Adam Deitch and bassist Jesse Murphy, over which Scofield, et. al.(Avi Bortnick on rhythm ...

John Scofield: Works For Me

by David Adler
March 1, 2001

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.

John Scofield: Works For Me

by Mark Corroto
February 1, 2001

Today’s lesson is you cannot escape your past. Like Jay Gatsby at a Hampton’s society party, John Scofield’s roots in rock and R&B show themselves in his self-proclaimed “straight-ahead record” Works For Me. But this is not all bad news, since most of Mr. Scofield’s audience was bred in the rock vernacular. Besides he is coming back to his listeners after taking a dip into the jam-band phenomena on the 1999 Disc Bump, with its heavy beats and sampling menu ...