Still Warm - John Scofield

Nov

19

Still Warm - John Scofield

≡ Category: 1980s, Essential, Fusion, Music Reviews |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING

Rating:

Still Warm is unique among John Scofield’s recordings in a number of ways. The overall tactile effect of Still Warm is like the rippling heat waves rising off freshly poured tar on a hot summer’s day. More so than usual, even for Scofield’s Gramavision label recordings, the emphasis is firmly on groove. In this, he is assisted immeasurably by the crack rhythm team of Omar Hakim on drums and percussion, and Darryl Jones on bass. The funny thing, Still Warm is also one of Scofield’s most bebop oriented albums, with Scofield running gorgeous scalar lines in and out of the prevailing harmonies.

Techno has a long-limbed melody over an extended groove. At first, the melody stays within the bounds delineated by Darryl Jones’ bass pattern. But the faded-in chords tell another story. They move in and around the harmony. Soon enough, the melody follows. When Scofield starts soloing, all bets are off. He’s all over the place, harmonically speaking. The only place I can detect keyboardist Don Grolnick on this tune is the bridge, unless it’s him on the faded in chords, which sounds just like a guitar using the volume knob to fade in. At the end of the tune, a vamp is introduced, which allows drummer Omar Hakim to go crazy over the form. Techno achieves something bizarre. It’s both laid back and burning.

On the eponymously named tune Still Warm, it’s revealed — that WAS keyboardist Don Grolnick fading in chords on Techno. He’s using an exceptionally warm and fluid keyboard sound, which sounds like it would melt in your mouth. Still Warm is taken at a slower tempo than Techno, but the harmonic rhythm is faster. The chords change every two bars, but Darryl Jones keeps a pedal point going underneath the changes. The melody is even more complex than on Still Warm. It goes on for ages, but it’s got a hummable quality to it. Scofield comes up with another cool way to give drummer Omar Hakim a solo. At the end of the tune, there’s a cyclicly ascending chord pattern to wail on.

We’re back to funky groves with High and Mighty, which is in a head-wagging 2/4. The opening section is basically a two chord funk riff resolving on the tonic, over which Scofield squeezes out blues licks. Then we get the melody section, with the harmony changing at the rate of one chord per bar, like Giant Steps, except at a much slower pace. On the solos, the emphasis is emphatically not on showing off, but rather on being melodic within the constraints of a constantly shifting harmonic landscape. As you would expect, both Scofield and keyboardist Don Grolnick pull this off beatifully. At the end of the tune, Scofield offers one of his patented, stuttering cadenzas.

Now we get to the real Giant Steps of this album, Protocol. Like Giant Steps, it’s one chord per bar, this time at a killer pace. In spite of the scalar emphasis of Scofield’s solos, he manages to be pithy, melodic and humorous, all at the same time. Somehow, the melody and the chord choices evoke the protocol of the title, which makes the whole thing even more fun. This tune gives me chills every time I hear it, and I’ve probably heard it hundreds of times by now.

On Rule of Thumb, bassist Darryl Jones pops his way up an ascending chord pattern, smoothly voiced by Don Grolnick like pancake syrup being poured on waffles. In fact, I like to think of this as International House of Pancakes jazz. There’s something Midwestern about it, but it’s so damned hip it blows my mind.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. Still Warm is one of the greatest of John Scofield’s Gramavision releases, which is record for record, Scofield’s most productive period so far. Still Warm is damned near perfect, and you can’t say that about too many recordings.