# CD review: John Scofield – Uncle John’s Band – 2023: Video, CD cover

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2023/10/18/cd-review-john-scofield-uncle-johns-band-2023-video-cd-cover/
- Published: 2023-10-18T00:04:05+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**John Scofield has been showcasing his uncanny melodic gift and dynamic sense of
pulse on major labels for more than 30 years. In a direct reflection of the versatile
playing and range of material comprising John Scofield’s third album for ECM Records,
its title carries multiple meanings. The very phrase “Uncle John’s Band” stipulates
the guitarist and composer was in charge of the sessions in August 2022, but he (
again) proves himself both gracious and generous during his interactions with bassist
Vicente Archer and drummer Bill Stewart. **

Immersed in the language of modern jazz, the American guitarist’s first teenage 
inspirations were blues and rock, and his playing retains a gritty yet sophisticated
raw edge. Long recognised as a stylist, his standing as an instrumentalist is marked
by equal-status collaborations with the likes of saxophonist Joe Lovano and fellow
guitarists Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell. In 2020, Scofield signed to ECM and followed
up a detailed exploration of compositions by bassist Steve Swallow with an introverted
solo album recorded during lockdown.

Uncle John’s Band, his third ECM release, is a welcome return to the flowing modernism
and rocky bite that made him a go-to player for the likes of Miles Davis, Charles
Mingus and Herbie Hancock earlier in his career. The guitar-trio double album presents
seven well-worked originals alongside standards from rock, jazz and the American
songbook. Vicente Archer on double bass and Bill Stewart on drums provide inspiration
and support, and the guitarist’s commanding form makes each bend, whine and gentle
strum count. Scofield’s originals use familiar grooves and melodies to showcase 
the trio’s empathy and fire.

The sparse motif in “How Deep” sits on a bed of sprightly walking-bass swing and“
Back in Time”, conjuring images of “Ghost Riders in the Sky” delivers subtle moods
shaded with menace. In the album’s second half, “Mo Green” builds a short sequence
into a fiery edifice of etched lines, and the lightly strummed “Mask” gathers strength
over a New Orleans pulse. Elsewhere, “Budo” and “Ray’s Idea”, recorded by Miles 
Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, respectively, in the late 1940s, develop angular lines
while Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere” is a beautiful ballad.

There’s also a lovely reading of Bob Dylan’s “Mr Tambourine Man” and a winsome cover
of Neil Young’s “Old Man”. The set ends with the title track, a Grateful Dead song
which Scofield plays regularly with the band’s bass guitarist Phil Lesh, and is 
relaxed and superbly controlled.

In addition, the placement of the Grateful Dead song as the last of these fourteen
tracks, as well as the name of the record itself, might suggest this is a covers
album. But this isn’t merely an LP consisting solely of outside songs: seven of 
Scofield’s originals are intermixed with the aforementioned Garcia/Hunter composition
as well as numbers written by the disparate likes of Miles Davis and Bob Dylan, 
among others.

Nevertheless, it’s interesting to note that performances of selections written by
others generally represent the longest on the album. Take the opener, for instance,
the Nobel Laureate from Minnesota’s “Mr. Tambourine Man:” in keeping with the mid-
Sixties era in which the Byrds had a massive hit with the song, Indian inflections
in a sampled loop come and go over the course of nine minutes and five seconds, 
during which time John indirectly elucidates the melody before taking off for uncharted
realms with Archer and Stewart.

Both of the latter play with as light a touch as the other and, in turn, Scofield
himself. That shared intuition is indicative of how often they’ve played together
in the past–see 2018’s Combo 66 to name just one outing–and that rare trait is also
readily apparent in “How Deep,” through which the trio swings with great dignity
but no little funk.

Much like “Ray’s Idea,” which appears towards the end of this roughly ninety-minute,
this cut posits the notion originals function as segues between the likes of Neil
Young’s “Old Man” and the Bud Powell co-authorship with ‘The Man With The Horn,’“
Budo.” The simplicity of structure on Scofield’s self-penned numbers allows for 
ample free-form playing, while precise outlining of the melodic and rhythmic themes
takes precedence on the familiar tunes such as that of the aforementioned iconic
band with whose bassist Phil Lesh, Scofield has so often collaborated in the past.

Not that the takes composed by the man whose name adorns this package (along with
some cryptic images) are constricted by any means. “TV Band,” for instance, has 
an outline altogether like a pop tune with the verse-chorus-verse progression. But
in alternately elaborating upon and dispensing with its inherent formality, this
trio stretches the song as well as themselves. The same dynamic is in play on “Mo
Green,” where the shared empathy in their interplay is so delightful, that the seven-
plus minutes fly by.

Such is invariably the experience no matter the track length here and no more so
than on “The Girlfriend Chord.” The threesome doesn’t overplay any more than Scofield
overwrites in his commentary on each track in the liner notes of the enclosed six-
page booklet; angular guitar runs echo in the double bass lines and decisive but
understated drumming.

Add to the element of quiet surprise–what was that tease?– most all this three-way
action, like the unfolding of “Back In Time,” takes place at a fairly leisurely 
pace. Recording at Clubhouse Studio, engineer Tyler McDiarmid captured all the nuances
of space as well as sound, leaving it to executive producer Manfred Eicher to expertly
mix and sequence. As a result, Uncle John’s Band is one of the most balanced efforts
of John Scofield’s career in terms of meshing instrumental technique and technical
skill.

On top of that, the music itself radiates a markedly more playful air than the solemn
likes of its two predecessors, 2020’s Swallow Tales and the eponymous solo effort
of two years later. The very open-ended attitude at the heart of this project, in
terms of both musicianship and range of material, reaffirms how John Scofield continues
to refine the basic precepts of modern jazz.

**CD 1**

1 Mr. Tambourine Man (Bob Dylan) 9:05
 2 How Deep (John Scofield) 5:39 3 TV Band(
John Scofield) 7:22 4 Back In Time (John Scofield) 6:49 5 Budo (Bud Powell, Miles
Davis) 4:12 6 Nothing Is Forever (John Scofield) 6:40 7 Old Man (Neil Young) 7:02

**CD 2**

1 The Girlfriend Cord (John Scofield) 5:22
 2 Stairway To The Stars (Mitchell Parish,
Frank Signorelli, Matt Malneck) 6:42 3 Mo Green (John Scofield) 7:19 4 Mask (John
Scofield) 6:34 5 Somewhere (Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein) 6:32 6 Ray’s Idea(
Gil Fuller, Raymond Brown) 3:56 7 Uncle John’s Band (Robert Hunter, Jerome Garcia)
6:27

**John Scofield guitar**
 **Vicente Archer bass** **Bill Stewart drums**

![](https://i0.wp.com/ecm-server.de/audio/06024557/0602455725509/Cover_1000.webp?
resize=640%2C640&ssl=1)

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