Philzone.org - Philzone Phansite Community Discussion Board: Setlists and Reviews: Non GD Related Reviews: Archive: John Scofield, 4/2/07, SLC UT

Had our chance to see the “trio” last night in Salt Lake City. I’ll admit my knowledge of modern Jazz musicians is limited… this I can say, I HAD A GREAT TIME!

To my untrained ear much of what sco plays is, if not the avant-garde, certainly eclectic. He seems to shift between modes during the course of a piece letting it build from dissonant chords to resolution in the harmony and melody. This I enjoyed very much.

One thing I don’t like about Sco is that sometimes he over uses particular guitar tones that sound shrill like a car horn, or he uses heavily processed sounds that would be better used more sparingly for accents. That is just my opinion.

Best part of the first set was his take on a Cole Porter standard (don’t ask me, I didn’t hear the title.) In the second set he treated us to his covers of “Satisfaction”, “House of the Rising Sun” (best part of the show,) and “Behind Closed Doors” in that order.

As a Jazz expert, Gunnar will need to fill us in with more details. (thanks Gunnar for being great company at the show!)

I loved the show and can’t wait to see the next one.

Wow, he only did one "popular" tune (that I know of) at the show I saw last year, and I can't even remember what it was (might have had a New Orleans theme). The rest was "modern jazz" (post-bop but not "free"? I'm probably off with my interpretation), and seemed to be concentrated on taking the material wherever the band wanted to go with it on any given night (or at least that's how he described the trio project on his website). It was one of those shows where you really have to pay attention to the music to "get" what the band is doing. It wore me out.

And I know exactly what you mean about the guitar tones. He has this one that I think is an "overdrive chorus" setting that he likes to dial in frequently, and it's a little, let's say, on the "timbrally intrusive" side.

He's in Boulder this weekend but it's not in my budget, and besides, I think I have tickets to a basketball game the same night (Dallas Mavericks; if it was a lesser team, and I had some extra money, I'd go to Sco).

Well folks, I had a wonderful time last night as well. I am not as well spoken as our Cachesoul associate however I agree with much of what he said and Posthead as well. The main difference to me is that Scofield is an acquired taste that has taken me years to acquire - I have come to love those tones.
This was a welcome return for me to a straight up jazz show. It has been so long a time since I last saw something so pure.
Please don't anyone string me up, but seeing Scofield play was as engaging as figuring out Coltrane and like Posthead imparted, it was a work out to 'actively' listen. Therefore, this junkie was in heaven. So many players out there, when improvising, make sense. Scofield is very much the opposite. I find that quality endearing because everything he plays is so surprising.
I don't think 20% of the standing room only audience (between 800 to 1000 people) agreed. These amateurs bailed after the first hour long set.
Kudos also go to the two other musicians. Bill Stewart played drums as exciting as Roy Haynes. And Steve Swallow was uniquely propelling the trio with his flourishing 5-string acoustic bass playing.
It was my first time seeing a show at the popular "Jazz at the Sheraton" series. The sound was good and the staff was friendly. But, the room was overcrowded and a tad stuffy. I feel that a gig like that should have a sparser crowd.

Cool. Thanks for the reviews...

>>>And Steve Swallow was uniquely propelling the trio with his flourishing 5-string acoustic bass playing.

Absolutely, I neglected to mention the bass player was outstanding.

I dug out my set list notes from the CO show last August and posted them under Java_Dave's review of the 4/3/07 Seattle show, if anyone's interested.