Customer Reviews

Groove Elation

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4 star:		(1)
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The guitar/organ combo has made quite a comeback during the 1990's with the emergence of MMW and Joey deFrancisco, and old stalwarts like John McLaughlin jumping on the bandwagon. But leave it to John Scofield to make records, "Hand Jive" (1994) and this one from 1995, that breaks all the rules of the genre.

Sco liberally injects a horn section that includes a tuba and trombone with the standard trumptet and sax, sometimes plays acoustic instead of electric guitar, and often employs a Creole style rhythm, which drumnmer Idris Muhammad is more than qualified to carry out. Most notably, Scofield passes on using any one of a number of Jimmy Smith groove disciples in favor of Larry Goldings. Goldings, perhaps the most cerebral organist since Larry Young, carefully places his chords, making sure Scofield's guitar is front and center.

Other than an unusually subdued opening track "Lazy", Scofield brings his immense talents on the frets to fore, most notably the clinic he conducts on the title song. Pretty consistently good songwriting, too.

This is hardly the only time John Scofield puts an organ in his lineup; he put the late Don Grolnick in the chair for 1989's "Flat Out", and of course, he teams with MMW on the lastest CD, "A Go Go". But this his most sucessful effort in that vein. If you enjoyed the grooves in "A Go Go" but still hungered for something more filling, then I highly recommend this record.

Scofield's has put together a fantastic group of musicians and tunes for this rhythmic workout. This album simply does not have a low point or weak track. Most tracks feature a nice, accessible funky groove, hence the title. Sco does slow it down for a few tunes to feature his acoustic guitar, with pleasing results. The horns and organ contribute heavily on several tunes, although there is still room for Sco to stretch out with some great solos on most tracks.

The lone complaint I would have is that the bass is not quite loud enough in the mix. On a funky set like this, I would have liked to hear the bass a bit more prominently.

This album should rank as one of Sco's finest, a fine complement to "a go go" and "bump" which are also highly recommended. For the keen ear, listen carefully for motifs and beats (tracks 4 and 10) that Sco explores again later on his next two funk albums.

UH HUH !!! What everyone has said here is true.To my knowledge, this is Scofield's best recording to date (6-1- 99), It smoulders and cooks, on a gourmet level sure to please the most jaded palets Elation is what really is happening here, big time. One of the finest jazz records ever! Idris Muhammad on drums works wonders in this totally hot, funky rythm section. Groove Elation!

Last night I went late to the jazz festival here. I didn't want to go but Scofield was there. I had trouble finding him at first as he was not on the main stage. I had to walk down a trail through some woods to a clearing to find Scof and the band grooving in the night for a small but very appreciative crowd of devotees.

I can't give you the exact feeling from last night. I'll never forget it. Everyone was animated because you just gotta move when music is that good. It was all smiles and enthusiasm. Scof has very devoted followers and if you dig his music I'm sure you know why. There's something almost spiritual about his music and the way he presents it...like a man on a mission.

He's relentless in hunting down that elusive next creation that scurries away if it finds you looking at it before it's fully created. A Scofield show will almost surely be successful in this as John insists.

If you go to a Scofield concert and don't of a sudden discover you're ! floating a few feet above the bodies of the crowd, you need to unwind. He sends me man.

This album has some of the flavor of the concert I saw in the woods last night. Scofield lets the other players fully develope their own insights on each tune then picks through them to find the materials to build the next structure to hang the song on.

Scof is a master of improv and especially with this sort of coffee house band he really lets it hang out. Often I am reminded of Ornette Coleman or John Coletrane when Scof takes the long way from point a to point b. No straight lines here.

If you're reading this, you are either a jazz head or a scofield fan. If you like jazz, you may or may not like this. Jazz is like Christianity: there are so many denominations that just saying "Jazz" doesn't really mean anything. That said, this is more like A-Go-Go and Bump than Scofield's more "pure" jazz recordings. It is, however, less abstract and Avante Garde than either of those. Confused yet? Well, lets just say its groovy, jazzy, interesting music, perfectly composed and perfectly played. This is, however, about THE worst album cover I've ever seen.... come on Sco', where is your dignity man?!?!? (:

John Scofield is a phenomenal player. He's one of those players that makes you want to slam your fingers in a door and run your guitars through a wood chipper. A tendency for guitar players is to let their guitars "talk" too much, but not Scofield. His phrasing only contains the right number of notes and they are never rushed. He's also not afraid of letting his guitar be silent either, letting his pauses build tension in the music as rhythm keeps moving forward. Don't be mistaken that this is a guitar album, because it is not. This album might have Scofield's name on it, but it is definitely a group effort. Larry Goldings adds to the magic with counterpoint on the organ and piano, the walking bass of Dennis Irwin, and drummer Idris Muhammad drums the way jazz should be played.

All of the songs on this album are keepers, and were written by Scofield. Each song is inherently different, and provides a great listening experience. From his soft tones in "Soft Shoe" to the opening groove in "Lazy", Scofield writes and plays beautifully. Scofield also brings horns into the mix with songs like "Bigtop", "Lazy", and "Kool".

This is a fun album to listen to as the band interacts as one. Each member builds off of the other. Even though the soloist stands out, you can still hear each individual member as if they were playing alone. Very rarely do you hear such talent mix so well that one is not playing on top of another. If you're into jazz, admire great musicians, and like music that has something to say, look no further.