The John Scofield Trio: EnRoute

And though Scofield is the most prominent name here, the music is the real star because all three members of the trio—including bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart—contribute equally. Any one of the three could've taken marquee billing on this CD as the music teems with ideas coming from all directions right from the start on "Wee. Throughout the disc, you hear an almost telepathic communication between these musicians that allows them to pickup ideas from each other and expand upon them with their respective instruments. To that end, this music, as on "Bag, is just about as pure as jazz can get without going completely free-form. Yet the threesome are wise enough to work with just enough structure to allow them touchstones to work from: hear the patience with which they explore "Alfie, reaffirming the axiom that the ballad is in fact the truest test of the musician's mettle.

It's laudable John Scofield never goes too long in the jamband scene without returning to the traditional forms. No question he's raised his profile by playing to younger audiences in recent years, but, even adapting his approach, he has never sounded trendy, in part because his unique combination of fluid jazz guitar attack married to the angular blues texture of his sound, is just as effective in either genre. For EnRoute , Scofield's sound becomes all the more sinuous, as it's totally free of effects—which in turn reflects the purity of his playing and his love of collaboration. And this dynamic translates directly into his partnership with Swallow and Stewart, because there's a spontaneous sense of joy about their interactions here that is absolutely sublime—this is whey they call it playing music. No worries about a wrong note with these guys and accordingly, not a wrong note to be heard. (Notwithstanding the beauty of editing your performance, of course!)

It's a further tribute to the humility of these three artists that the music takes precedence over billing. In the end, it is the music that triumphs, with the musicians as a means to that end, a process they seem eminently willing to embrace.

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