Customer Reviews

OH!

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I personally have hoped and prayed for the day that Sco would record another quartet record like the ones he released in the early 90's. What amazes me is that "Oh!" has become my favorite record of them all. It kills! Sco's tone is somewhat darker and much more blunt than in previous outings but it fits perfectly with the big, woody tone of Lovano's tenor. The grooves are tight, the compositions are stunning, and the improvisation is at a level only attainable with four so thoroughly seasoned masters.

I am only a young raging teen at the feeble age of 13, and my style of music is usually melodic metal and reggae, and i have only just begun to explore the world of jazz, so don't expect the best review in the world.
In my point of view i think this is great stuff to chill by, it ranges from the bluesy "Oh I see" to the 12 minute epic "New Amsterdam". Lovano and Schofield both interlap each others solos and are both great performers and love the spolight. Holland and Foster are very solid players, and back up the guitars and sax very well.
All in all, four very experienced pioneers of jazz put together make a very soulful CD.

These four veteran superstars have put together some of the most interesting music I've heard in quite some time. Muscular grooves and air-tight rhythyms presented in a fresh way define the music on this cd. They've all been busy working on multiple projects and/or leading their own bands and as a result sound inspired. Leading off with the title track, each player gets a chance to strut his stuff in a way that ephasizes the music as opposed to just showing off.

Of the four musicians, I'm least familiar with Al Foster. That will change after hearing him on "Oh!". He never sounds starved for ideas and knows how & when to settle into a nice, understated groove. Coupling that with Dave Holland's masterful bass gives you an unbeatable rythym section.

I know it's early, but when year end lists start popping up for 2003, this cd should be high up on many of them.

The mercurial John Schofield, probably the premier jazz guitarist of his day--at least from the point of view of the variety of effective settings in which he manages to make brilliant music--morphs once again--this time back from the past (a la his guitar/sax/bass/drums outings of the early 90s, "Meant to Be," "Time on My Hands," and "What We Do") into the future. Joe Lovano, himself perhaps the finest tenor sax player of his generation, is the constant here, having played on all three previously mentioned discs. The rhythm section of Dave Holland on bass and Al Foster on drums is, of course, world class. Brought together on this session, they make something magical happen.

They seem to be in a jammin' mood here--not to be confused with a jam-band sensibility such as you might get with Phish or MMW--but they're very relaxed, groovin', and listenable, especially when they're way mellowed out, as on "In Your Arms.," or just having fun, as on "Shorter Form," patterned, one supposes, after the compositional approach of the great tenorist who was recently named musician of the year by a noted jazz periodical (I don't hear it). For their jamming sensibility, check out esp. "New Amsterdam," "The Dawn of Time," and "Brandyn." The thing that really amazes about this record is the astounding musicality of this group so lightly worn, the leader tossing off incredibly complex solos matched note for note by the astounding Lovano. And if anyone thought Al Foster couldn't play in this league, just listen to his magical accompaniment on "Brandyn."

Joe Lovano gets a unique sound from his soprano. He's got that sour, slightly pinched tone favored by many altoists, but it all seems so effortless. And his intonation is spot on-not an easy thing to do with this awkward horn. Moreover, he has neither that annoying reediness so often present in jazz sopranoists nor that cloying Kenny G thing. Check out the unison lines he plays with Schofield on "Bittersweet," which bears a similar relation to samba that "Valse Triste" plays to the waltz. Also his tenderness on the beautiful ballad, "In Your Arms." And his incredible nimbleness on "Brandyn." I'd like to hear more from him on soprano.

This is jazz at its finest-burning, immediate, accessible, impossibly agile, and starkly beautiful-sometimes all at once, as on "Faces." By all means, don't miss out on this one.

When Scolohofo (John Scofield on guitar, Joe Lovano on tenor and soprano saxophone, Dave Holland on bass and Al Foster on drums) put this album out back in 2002, I literally whooped with joy. I only bought the album because of Scofield and Lovano, to be totally honest, but I became a firm Dave Holland and Al Foster fan as a result of it.

Produced by the band and co-produced by Eli Wolf, each of the eleven songs on here is brilliant. My two favourites, the upbeat "The Winding Way" - all ten and a half minutes of it - and the beguiling ballad "Bittersweet", I could play back to back all day but the rock-influenced "New Amsterdam" (in terms of Scofield's playing, at least) - another big adventure twelve and a half minutes long - and "In Your Arms", another ballad are also up there.

Scofield's guitar blends so well with Lovano's gentle, wispy (especially on soprano) saxophone tones. They've done quite a bit together already and I really wish they would do something together again soon. Actually, I thought this super group formation was going to be a regular thing (like Fourplay but with more 'traditional' jazz leanings) but six years later I'm still waiting for another Scolohofo album.

Dave Holland is a legend in his own right and really needs no introduction but watch out for his intro to "The Winding Way". It raises a smile every time I hear it. And all I can say about Al Foster (check out his solo towards the end of "The Winding Way" also) is that it's difficult to believe that the person playing here only has two arms and two legs. He's all over the place, playing one style one minute and another one the next, but it all sounds great. I'd never heard of him before this album but I've had an eye out for him ever since.

I'm surprised to see that only seven people have posted reviews for this album but I still doubt there's a Scofield or Lovano fan out there that doesn't have it already. I recommend it very highly to anyone considering jazz quartets. See what happens when four jazz giants get together. The songwriting duties are shared virtually equally with everyone writing three each, except for Al Foster who contributes two. Great songs all of them though, with melodies I can easily hum along to and have fun doing it. A true classic.

Whoever says that the tunes on this CD are... and I quote "atrocious" probably can't play jazz and don't realize how nice this quartet works together. I'll admit that some of the tunes on here were, well, lacking (amsterdam). Dave Hollands playing is quite amazing. He puts the right notes right where they belong. But there is some amazing playing going on here. The last song "oh, I see" highlights all of the players strengths. It's great to hear sco play more strait ahead jazz stuff (not to say that I don't love his other stuff! and not to say that this is exactly "strait ahead"). All of these musicians absolutly tear it up. This is a must for any scofield fan, or any jazz fan for that matter.

I am quite a Scofield fan and he does a fine job on the ablum. Lovano is also quite a formidable beast of a player. The problem that I have is the slight weakness that Al Foster provides on the album. Not that he isn't good, its just that he kind of gets in the way but thats just my opinion. Definately a great buy though. Go ahead and get it.

When this was released I rushed out and bought it sound unheard. With those players how could it be other than excellent I reasoned. Now the truth of the matter is that this CD is almost uniformly dreadful. The actual playing technique is obviously first class but the music itself is atrocious. This sort of stuff is the reason why so many listeners have deserted jazz. I defy anyone to hum even a single bar from this collection. Honestly I think it contains one of the worst set of "tunes" (and I use the term loosely) released for years. I have a comprehensive jazz collection covering all the bases from ancient to modern but I am quite certain that this CD should never have been released. What were they all thinking? To hear actual music as opposed to this sort of contrived rubbish check out Herbie, Mike Brecker et al from Massey Hall or the Wayne Shorter live set "Footprints".