This Meets That (Emarcy)
John Scofield
Released September 10, 2007
Top 10 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll 2007
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mtJ0x_o2Y0_S9UAI_5742Y9yC9WFlC1Cc
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/intl-pt/album/1gW7NmEvtVscLwNQ6KnyqQ?si=__V2C8Q_Qt2v2F_UGD1qVQ
About:
Following celebrated runs on the Enja, Arista, Gramavision, Blue Note and Verve labels, Scofield is proud to release his first project for Emarcy, This Meets That. The album finds Scofield once again in the company of what he calls his “A-Team” – bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart – the trio that released En Route in 2004. Added to that, the four-part horn section of Roger Rosenberg on baritone sax and bass clarinet, Jim Pugh on trombone, Lawrence Feldman on tenor sax and flutes and John Swana on trumpet and flugelhorn. A special treat, one tune also features special guest Bill Frisell on tremolo guitar– a cover of “House of the Rising Sun.”
Track Listing:
1. The Low Road (John Scofield) 04:56
2. Down D (John Scofield) 05:34
3. Strangeness in the Night (John Scofield) 07:14
4. Heck of a Job (John Scofield) 07:23
5. Behind Closed Doors (Kenneth Gist) 05:29
6. House of the Rising Sun (Traditional) 07:25
7. Shoe Dog (John Scofield) 08:12
8. Memorette (John Scofield) 06:35
9. Trio Blues (John Scofield) 04:16
10. Pretty Out (John Scofield) 04:31
11. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (Mick Jagger) 03:07
Personnel:
John Scofield: guitar
Steve Swallow: bass
Bill Stewart: drums
With
Roger Rosenberg: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Lawrence Feldman: tenor saxophone, flutes
Jim Pugh: trombone
John Swana: trumpet, flugelhorn
Bill Frisell: tremolo guitar (6)
Recorded September 2006, April & May 2007, at Avatar Studios, NYC
Produced by John Scofield
Recorded and Mixed by James Farber
Assistant Engineers: Anthony Ruotolo, Justin Gerrish
Mastered by Greg Calbi
Photography by Nick Suttle
Design: Mark Hess
Review:
Perhaps more than any other instrumentalists, guitarists have misguided notions about chops, as in you have to display everything at your disposal all the time; use ’em or lose ’em. As speed-king contemporaries became guitar heroes when the fusion era dawned, John Scofield developed a reputation for only being able to do the best with what he had. Not so. His new CD, This Meets That, is the latest proof that Scofield indeed has chops to rival the shredders. The ever-musical guitarist just has the taste to know when not to use them.
Scofield brings back the rhythm section from his standout 2004 live CD En Route: veteran bassist Steve Swallow and rising young drumming star Bill Stewart. He also adds a four-piece horn section throughout, and another of the guitar’s modern-day outside thinkers, Bill Frisell, on one track. Scofield’s jagged, alternately-tuned introductory notes on the funky opener, “The Low Road,” signal the listener to expect the unexpected. That’s reiterated by another abstract intro to the subsequent, de-tuned “Down D.”
The alternating dirge and swing sections of “Strangeness in the Night” employ the horns (baritone saxophonist Roger Rosenberg, trombonist Jim Pugh, tenor saxophonist Lawrence Feldman and trumpeter John Swana) to great effect. Ditto “Heck of a Job,” the New Orleans-fueled statement on the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, which features one of Swallow’s inimitable fretless bass solos.
Scofield even makes old rock (the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”) and country hits (Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors”) sound hip, and Frisell’s tremolo guitar helps breathe life into an even more tired warhorse, “House of the Rising Sun.” Further in, the free-jazz experiment “Pretty Out” provides a microcosm of Scofield’s career by showcasing how he can chop it up, while always stressing taste and tone over technique.
Bill Meredith (JazzTimes)
