JOHN SCOFIELD — Überjam Deux (review)

JOHN SCOFIELD — Überjam Deux album cover Album · 2013 · Acid Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
js
“Uberjam Deux” is the second installment in a little acid jazz series John Scofield initiated about a decade ago. Nothing too serious going on here, this is mostly fun jams for folks who want to get their groove on. John doesn’t even stretch out on any long solos, mostly keeping the tunes short and to the point. You get a nice variety of rhythms on this CD with lots of RnB from old school to new, plus some Afro-beat, a bit of reggae and even a hint of electronica here and there. One thing that stands out over repeat listens is the fact that Scofield is an excellent RnB guitarist, something that isn’t always true with others from the jazz field. If you had to pick an overall tag for John’s career, it would be hard to choose between jazz and RnB, he’s quite good at both. The funky little riffs he supplies throughout this album are almost like a dictionary of RnB licks for any aspiring guitarist trying to learn the trade.

With today’s technology, drum loops and rhythm software it would have been easy for Scofield to put an album like this together himself, but fortunately he wisely chose to have a real rhythm section and even a second guitarist (Avi Bortnick) adding syncopated counter parts to John’s funky guitar licks. Keyboardist John Medeski also appears on some of the tunes with his signature B3 playing. I have to admit, on first listen I was disappointed in this CD because I had previously been listening to Scofield’s very demanding post bop workout on “ScoLoHoFo”, where four all-star musicians push each other to the max and John lays down some very creative extended solos. “Uberjam” is not that kind of a project and it began to win me over as I realized how excellent and abundantly plentiful John’s RnB riffs are.

For folks who like this sort of groove oriented RnB/jazz, this one is better than most. A lot of artists will slap these sort of projects together quickly and then phone in the results, but Scofield took the time to put something very nice together, and his playing and dictionary of riffs are a must hear for any aspiring RnB guitarist.
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