John Scofield: Uncle John's Band

John Scofield's entire oeuvre can be roughly divided into groove-based or straight-ahead recordings. Yet even in maximum groove propulsion, as on A Go Go (Verve, 1998), to cite one stellar example, Scofield's grounding in straight-ahead jazz is never far from the surface. On the flip side, his most conventional jazz is always rhythmically vital. Uncle John's Band, the guitarist's third ECM album as leader, following Swallow Tales (2020) and John Scofield (2022), falls squarely in the latter category. And it is a gem.

Though this double album features seven Scofield originals and seven covers, it is no roots-and-branches concept album. Far from it. In Scofield's hands the bridges between '40s bebop and contemporary improvisation or between '60s folk and wicked groove-based romps are smooth, aided in no small measure by the agility and verve of drummer Bill Stewart and bassist Vicente Archer. Few know Scofield's playing as well as Stewart, an on-off collaborator since the early 1990s. With Archer, the pair have been Scofield's go-to guys since Combo 66 (Verve, 2016). Not for nothing does this sound like a road-seasoned band of brothers.

Of the covers, Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," Neil Young's "Old Man" and Grateful Dead's "Uncle John's Band" provide the juiciest bones for fresh-sounding collective improvisation, so far removed are they, at least rhythmically, from the jazz tradition. Loops course through the Dylan classic like a tanpura drone and a quasi-Indian, note-bending quality is just one of the colors that filters through in Scofield's soloing.

The bebop staple "Budo"—Miles Davis' contrafact of Bud Powell's "Hallucinations —and the leader's own "How Deep" both follow a walking-bass pattern. The trio's momentum feels more programmatic on these stylized pieces, although there is no denying the fire in the collective playing. Scofield is in mesmerizing form throughout, combining gutsy passion and stylish savoir faire. Stewart and Archer also weave the sort of rhythmic magic which could work as a stand-alone soundtrack.

The trio's broiling interplay is arguably at its keenest on Scofield's originals, with the swinging "TV Band," the folksy "Back in Time" (with its echoes of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home") and the irresistible, funk-laced "Mo Green" being standouts. But amidst all the bustle and flexing, "Stairway to the Stars" and "Somewhere" lend quietly beguiling credence to the rarely voiced notion that Scofield is as good a balladeer as any out there.

In a 2020 interview with All About Jazz Scofield pondered the jazz dichotomy: "Jazz is best when its completely carefree. The only problem is when you care about the music more than anything in the world, how do you get carefree?" Intuitively, Scofield knows how and has done for years. Uncle John's Band proves that in spades.