Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The John Scofield Trio: EnRoute

304

The John Scofield Trio: EnRoute

By

View read count
The John Scofield Trio: EnRoute
EnRoute may be one of the most remarkable recordings John Scofield has made during a redoubtable career that includes a stint with Miles Davis, a tenure with Billy Cobham, and projects with the likes of Pat Metheny and Medeski Martin & Wood. The level of inspiration on this live set recorded last December at the Blue Note in New York is usually the result of constant roadwork on the part of players who have been together for years at a time. While Scofield has played before with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart, their tour last fall was the first collaboration among them in a number of years.

And though Scofield is the most prominent name here, the music is the real star because all three members of the trio—including bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart—contribute equally. Any one of the three could've taken marquee billing on this CD as the music teems with ideas coming from all directions right from the start on "Wee. Throughout the disc, you hear an almost telepathic communication between these musicians that allows them to pickup ideas from each other and expand upon them with their respective instruments. To that end, this music, as on "Bag, is just about as pure as jazz can get without going completely free-form. Yet the threesome are wise enough to work with just enough structure to allow them touchstones to work from: hear the patience with which they explore "Alfie, reaffirming the axiom that the ballad is in fact the truest test of the musician's mettle.

It's laudable John Scofield never goes too long in the jamband scene without returning to the traditional forms. No question he's raised his profile by playing to younger audiences in recent years, but, even adapting his approach, he has never sounded trendy, in part because his unique combination of fluid jazz guitar attack married to the angular blues texture of his sound, is just as effective in either genre. For EnRoute , Scofield's sound becomes all the more sinuous, as it's totally free of effects—which in turn reflects the purity of his playing and his love of collaboration. And this dynamic translates directly into his partnership with Swallow and Stewart, because there's a spontaneous sense of joy about their interactions here that is absolutely sublime—this is whey they call it playing music. No worries about a wrong note with these guys and accordingly, not a wrong note to be heard. (Notwithstanding the beauty of editing your performance, of course!)

It's a further tribute to the humility of these three artists that the music takes precedence over billing. In the end, it is the music that triumphs, with the musicians as a means to that end, a process they seem eminently willing to embrace.

Track Listing

Wee; Toogs; Name That Tune; Hammock Soliloquy; Bag; It Is Written; Alfie; Travel John; Over Big Top.

Personnel

John Scofield: guitar; Steve Swallow: electric bass; Bill Stewart: drums.

Album information

Title: EnRoute | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Verve Music Group

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



John Scofield Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.