John Scofield
En Route

Curious how sometimes the age of all participants in a common musical project differs significantly. It's a rare event, and when it happens, the results are often excellent, proving the power that music has to break down, among various barriers, even the generational one.

This great trio is a shining example: John Scofield, born '51 on electric guitar; Steve Swallow, born '40, on electric bass, and the young lion Bill Stewart, born '67 on drums.

Three different generations compared, reflecting different eras, styles, and ways of thinking and playing, experiences among the most varied that merge into an ideal asymptote towards the achievement of "pure" improvised music, spontaneous, ideally free from clichés and pre-set scenarios.

Consider the importance of the trio of Jimmy Giuffre with Paul Bley and the veteran Steve Swallow here (who played double bass at the time), a trio that produced the conceptual music masterpiece “Free Fall” in '63, a free jazz even more revolutionary than its predecessors, with surreal and mysterious sounds...

Consider the electric bands of Miles Davis in which the young guitarist John Scofield played from '82 to '85, who surely absorbed the experience like a sponge...

Finally, consider the New York of the '90s at the Knitting Factory, a hotbed of young talents in contemporary improvised music, an underground and stimulating reality that the prodigious percussive talent of a just over twenty-year-old Bill Stewart came to live and breathe.

Unique artistic and life experiences that converge and sublimate here. Three masters divided by age difference but united by great esteem and by having understood the most important thing of all in this field: that music is sharing.

The album under review, “En Route,” recorded in December 2003, captures the splendid live performance of our guys at the Blue Note in New York; the music starts, and sparks fly immediately!

The initial “Wee” by Denzil Best, receives a very lively treatment, and the main characteristic of this group is immediately evident: the lightness of sound combined with great agility and rhythmic freedom. Stewart flies over the kit creating polyrhythms and very fitting accents to enhance the musical result, Swallow showcases his inimitable rubbery sound on the electric bass, without smudges and booms, insinuating, impertinent, often and willingly phrasing as if it were a guitar, using the high notes of the instrument, and Scofield conquers with his timbre, a bit acid and growling, slightly distorted, with a blues, rock, and soul spirit full of character and excellent improvisational skill!

The tracks “Name That Tune” (by Swallow), and “Hammock Soliloquy,” “Travel John” and “Over Big Top” (by Scofield) are truly devastating, all full of a high level of interplay, splendid solos, exceptional rhythmic drive, and feeling. The use of dynamics is splendid, the three know how to dose the volumes perfectly, and particularly during Swallow's solos when Scofield steps aside, the exchanges (delicate or more aggressive) between the “young” Bill and the “old” Steve are textbook examples. You can feel the hard bop and outburn school within, but brought to fine levels thanks to having internalized the lessons of Tony Williams for the drums and Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Richard Davis, Gary Peacock, and Jaco Pastorius for the bass. Truly amazing!

In the album, in addition to moments of virtuosity and instrumental mastery, there are also moments of refined lyricism, such as the ballads “Toogs” by Scofield and the famous “Alfie” by Burt Bacharach. Here the three converse in a low voice, with Stewart switching to brushes, played with elegance and expertise, and Scofield sensitive and inspired.

A highly recommended album for all lovers of these three instruments and for those who want an immediate and pleasant listening experience but devoid of superficiality! Moreover, the generous duration, exceeding 73', ensures that the meal is excellent and abundant...

Rating 4.5