John Scofield Band
überjam

(Verve/Universal)

First Appeared in The Music Box, April 2002, Volume 9, #4

Written by John Metzger

Contrary to popular belief — mostly among the jam band crowd who have recently discovered him — John Scofield is not an up and coming new artist. He’s been plying his trade for years in the jazz idiom, with his own ensembles as well as with legends like Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. Hence, the jazz fusion bent of his latest release überjam.

True, Scofield continues to fold funk, rock, and even hip-hop elements into his songs, but the overriding mechanism behind überjam is pure jazz. It was, after all, Davis who brought many of these elements together so keenly on the classics In a Silent Way and Bitches’ Brew. Powered by Scofield’s signature guitar style, his band — which features drummer Adam Deitch, bass player Jesse Murphy, and guitarist Avi Bortnick and includes keyboardist John Medeski and flautist Karl Denson — lays down a series of scintillating grooves that are certain to please his new converts as well as longtime fans. In essence, überjam updates Davis’ fusion from Bitches Brew and brings it up to present day, and although it might not be quite as impressionistic or subtly beautiful — Scofield tends to overwork the funk angle — it’s no less powerful.

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Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2002 The Music Box