Customer Reviews

Up All Night

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

John Scofield is one of few players equally at home in the worlds of straight-ahead acoustic jazz and electro-jazz-funk. I prefer him in the former setting (e.g., Works for Me, Scolohofo), but I'm coming to appreciate his work in the latter almost as much (e.g., Uberjam, Up All Night).

This strikes me as Sco's most successful electro-funk outing to date. To my ears there's more of interest going on here: check the subtle interplay on "Creeper," and the deep groove of "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get." Avi Bortnick has become an even more amazing rhythm guitarist in the intervening year and a half since Uberjam. Sounding distinctly like one of the all-time greatest rhythm guitarists, Steve Erquiaga, on "Thikhathali," my favorite cut, which comes across something like a faux-Egyptian-Caribbean-surf number (Dick Dale meets Andy Narell via some weird Middle-East connection?), Bortnick stamps this number with a hip musical sensibility that's absolute perfection.

Several of the numbers feature a killer horn section. Most notable of these is "Four on the Floor," an impossibly bubbly-funky number with a slow burn perfectly suited to the punchy horn approach.

Of special note is the dreamy ballad, "Like the Moon," with Bortnick again contributing some very effective guitar support, this time lots of long tones and bent strings. While the entire number is very atmospheric, there's a killer middle section that redefines the term ethereal, leading into a way cool outro.

The more I listen to this, the more I think Up All Night's a breakthrough for Sco. Whereas his previous electro-funk outings sometimes seemed heavy-handed and half-baked to these ears, everything here's smart, hip, and creative.

A continuation of some of the nattiest jazz releases ever in the first half of any single year.

I have been a long-term fan of John Scofield. I think his transition into the more funk-sample-delic music raised a few eyebrows, but I dont know anyone who cant hear the musical genius in all of his works. This latest endeavor, UP ALL NIGHT has been in my CD changer since it came out! The rich layering of different sounds and grooves keeps each song sounding new each time I hear it. Avi Bortnick and Adam Deitch could be two of the most rythmic players on the scene there today, and I love the new element that Andy hess brings into the mix...John has an amazing band that he obviously feels connected to because so much of this record was written as a team and improvised in the studio -- The freshness of all the music is beyond apparent! I loved überjam, and I loved A Go Go, but I think that this latest record might be my favorite of his groove-based albums so far -- Scofield is getting really comfortable in this style and his masterful techniques and visions are shining brighter than ever!

Having loved Scofield and his music forever, I tend to count on him to deliver with each outing. But, to be honest, when I first listened to this here platter, I was somewhat let down. Initially, I would have whole-heartedly concurred with those that opine that melody has taken a back seat to texture and groove this time out.

And you know what? It has. What I've found, though, is that it helps to treat this album as an entirely different creature than "Still Warm," "A Go Go," or even "uberjam." There's much more in terms of dub and psychedelic elements to the new record, and if you give the album time to grow on you, the amazing array of trippy sounds will become their own reward.

And, since that might not be enough for some of you, know that the playing is just as stellar as ever. Scofield's soloing, though heavily effected, is still ridiculously inventive, especially on the great band performance that is "Creeper." Plus, Scofield has never released a more stylistically diverse record - there's even a drop dead Fela Kuti/Sunny Ade tribute here. Hell, I'll admit that the album takes a little time to sink in, but once you submit to its charms, "Up All Night" more than repays the effort.

another dude already said it best, what seems to be "lacking" in terms of melody etc on this album is made up for with rhythm and texture.. i cant really compare to other scofield albums, ive heard tons of his stuff but this is the only album i own and am familiar with, and its certainly not what i expected when i happily grabbed up my first scofield band record. i was expecting the sort of music you sit down and listen to for the enjoyment of skilled musicians cutting loose in the context of romping funk, full of long extended solos and wierd chord changes and obscure rhythms etc. this album has all of that, but its sort of subdued in a wash of effects and abstraction. when scofield starts goin off, its not the sort of solo you can sit there and listen to in the usual sense of a guitar solo, its just another layer of sound over the whole rhythmic mess (so to speak). so really this album i would say is more geared towards a dance/hip hop/electronic mentality than jazz, since the melodies and harmonies that usually drive jazz are deeply overshadowed by all manner of dirty audio tweaks and thunderously locked in grooves banged out by the drums and bass. approaching this album from a more "traditional" viewpoint, it understandably is kind of hard to take. first listen i was highly unimpressed, the beats were great and all but it was just too wierd. once you stop worrying about the general melodic aspect and listen to it more in the context of drum and bass or trip hop, you realize just how trippy and awesome an album it is. even so i think it takes some time to sort of tune into the abstraction of it, the sharp grittiness of the bountiful effects processing and the sort of unpredictable abstraction that john often goes off into, dousing long, incomprehensible, dizzying guitar runs with auto-wah and filtering etc.. once you get a feel for just what the band is doing it becomes an extremely fun listen however, awesome for background music, chill rooms at parties, spacing out on headphones, bumping out of car systems, all that good stuff.... definitely reccomended to abstract/experimental fans as well as electronic music peeps, those into the wierder manifestations of dnb, trip hop and breaks

John Scofield was possibly the best guitarist that the great Miles Davis ever worked with, other than John Mclaughlin. I have to say, this new album helps show off Scofield's range of skills on the electric guitar. He kinda combines cool jazz with an upbeat almost shimmering quality that is his trademark. A must for any lover of good jazz-guitar-playing. Scofield also has some Afro-beat and Metropolitan-jive influences in his music that might be a little surprising to first time listeners. But, I must repeat that this is an excellent album and a good buy!

Is this guy busy or what? It seems every few months I've been getting a treat. I thought Uberjam was pretty good, but also felt it lapsed in a few areas. This one doesn't at all: even the mellower tracks have a sincere edge to them, and the faster ones are great fun.

What is the style? A great mix of acid jazz, urban lounge groove, with some reggae/soukous influence on a track or two.

"Up All Night" is a very fine recording. Since "Up All Night" and "Uberjam" are essentially the same line ups (John Scofield Band), it is natural to compare the two recordings. Admittedly, I think "Uberjam" is my favorite of the two recordings. When I first heard "Uberjam," it really caught my attention. As other reviewers have noted, "Uberjam" had some memorable melodies, cool musical twists, turns and textures, and tidbits of hidden treasures, such as in-and-out exchange of real drums and techno drums, interesting deep-sounding distorted bass lines and unique sound samplings. "Uberjam" was one of most exciting CD's I have purchased in recent years. When "Up All Night" was released, I was expecting something similar in energy and surprise to "Uberjam." "Up All Night" has its exciting and intense moments and is similar to "Uberjam" in its style, but as a whole it is more subdued, atmospheric and sets a certain mellow, dreamy mood. Also, some of the songs tend to meander a bit with drawn-out, repetitive rhythyms and groove beats. The songs reflect the concept of the title of the album--it is the kind of dreamy music a person would listen to if they were "Up All Night" in the wee hours of the morning.... Although not quite as eye-opening as "Uberjam," I still highly recommend "Up All Night" to any listener--it is another remarkable effort by John Scofield.

I was not expecting this from John Scofield. This project's focus is evident from the first track...texture, as described by some of the other reviewers. It almost seems like somewhat of a drum-n-bass recording. But, with the talent of John and his jazz background, there are just enough flavors here to break the monotony of a typical drum-n-bass CD and take the grooves through different avenues with some surprises around the bends. This one took about 3 listenings to break it in for me to really enjoy, some songs may need more...and some may never make it. But there are some really interesting tracks on here worth a few listenings for anyone interested in this kind of music...my favorites being Philiopiety and Thikhathali. Strange stuff, but fun especially if you have nice system and one heck of a subwoofer to drive it :). I would recommmend this one to only a few of my friends, but they are the only other ones I know who get off to this kind of stuff. Its sad more people dont know anything about this kind of music...but, sometimes at the right party, a track or two off this can be a hit no one expected.

This is a wonderfully recorded album and the songs are "groovy" too. Scofield's playing in the past 4 years has never been better. The album he did recently with the ScoHoLoFo band is packed with killer guitar solos - just diggin' the fingers straight into the fret board. He has also played on Roy Haynes latest album w/ Joshua Redman and Dave Holland. That too is a treat - but ultimately I prefer Scofield in this environment. Here he can stretch out and just play effortlessly thru the funky themes.

This album has the same line up as Uberjam minus the guest appearances so if you like Uberjam - "Up All Night" comes highly recommended. John is cementing himself right up there with Metheny with some of the best guitar playing of his career - and some of the best guitar playing on the planet.

The rest of the band is good too, especially as John sprinkles short sound effects over the entire mix. Stuff like this is made for headphones. Gotta enjoy it. - and thank you for not creating just another Uberjam. The band has evolved in an intelligent direction - as all bands should strive to do.

Funk is my favourite genre of music and for my money this new release from Sco is probably the best jazz-funk/funky jazz album since I dont know when. It probably wont go down well with jazz purists who dont like seeing funk, rock and other elements being brought in. I'd be surprised if we dont see any DJ remixes because some of the tracks are simply killer grooves. Avi's clipped rhythm playing's the funkiest thing since Chic called it a day. The bass throbs in a great finger funk style and Adam Dietch is a cracking skinsman. Overlaying it all is Sco's inimitable lead playing. I loved Uberjam, but 'Up all night's even tighter and more danceable. For me, this is the best album release so far this year.