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"Super groups" tend to be more about "super" and less about "groups." Their attraction is in the name appeal, and not in their cohesiveness as a jazz unit. Perhaps because of the two year duration of this assemblage, or because of the talents of
John Scofield,
Joe Lovano,
Dave Holland and drummer
Al Foster, the touted
ScoLoHoFo departs from this rule.
This is an ensemble of equal parts, so that even when it is apparent that the guitar or the tenor is the ‘lead’ soloist there is no contentment in Holland and Foster to merely provide a rhythm-section backdrop. Indeed, Foster is at his most articulate ever, a far cry from his stint with Miles Davis, so that even when the rhythm holds steady Foster is continually inventive in keeping the beat. As well, each musician has written for the group, and no works by a non-member are included.
What is the musical design or genre? — over the edge hard bop, with a variety of rhythms and enough swing (or dance-like sway) to give it lubricity. It can be tempered to a poetic mood, as on "Bittersweet" and it can take on the skittish pulse and then crackle as on "Shorter Form." The lengthy "New Amsterdam" is a jazz/jazz-rockish raucous ruckus of a cooker. Throughout the CD, Scofield wields lines of single, identifiable notes, some fuzzed, occasionally a climaxing chord, and always an energized improvisatory vision. As to Lovano, his standing as a tenor rooted in bop but daring and capable to transcend every post-bop idiom is reconfirmed here. And when he ‘chases’ or shadows Scofield, the effect is mesmerizing.
Some compositions meander, as does Scofield’s "Right About Now," but even where the composition itself lacks imagination or durability the soloing draws one in, as does Lovano’s on this work, where the tenor resuscitates the piece. Similarly, Holland’s "In Your Arms" tries too hard to be a chaste ballad, showing that this band loses a bit of its energy and invention on slow-tempo works. (There is a corrective on the semi-slow "Oh I See," where the band waxes in a cool-jazz medium with a blues tinge and a hint of soulfulness—all that is missing is a jazz organ.)
Overall, if not a perfect recording, this is an album of musicians perfecting their art. The year 2002 in jazz, in its entirely, offered little of the magnitude of this work, which hopefully augurs well for the coming year. "Oh!" what a wonderful CD.
ScoLoHoFo:
Oh! (Blue Note)
Release Date:
28 Jan. 2003
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last update 21 April 2003