Guitarist John Scofield is at His Most Freewheeling on Uncle John’s Band.
The Double Album Includes Songs by The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Miles Davis, Leonard Bernstein and More Scofield’s Far-Reaching Original Compositions are Swing, Funk and Folk-Inflected.
Featuring Bassist Vicente Archer and Drummer Bill Stewart.
Available Today on CD and Digital Platforms via ECM
Available on Vinyl on November 17!!
Named for the Grateful Dead song that concludes this double album, Uncle John’s Band features masterful guitarist John Scofield at his most freewheeling. Wide ranging repertoire finds his trio with Vicente Archer and Bill Stewart tackling material from Dylan’s “Mr Tambourine Man” to Neil Young’s “Old Man”, from Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere” to the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool classic “Budo.” And jazz standards including “Stairway to the Stars” and “Ray’s Idea” rub shoulders with seven far-reaching Scofield originals that are variously swing, funk and folk-inflected. The red thread through the program is the trio’s improvisational verve.
“I feel like we can go anywhere” says John Scofield of the group’s multi-directional versatility, and they do. The opening “Tambourine Man” for instance begins almost in the spirit of raga, before the theme emerges, lilting and country-flavored, and the improvisation opens up a new space where “we don’t follow a form but play freely,” with Archer’s heartfelt solo an early highlight. From moment to moment the group embraces the structures of the pieces it plays, then stretches and liberates them. “All the compositions are vehicles for us to improvise on,” Scofield told rock magazine Relix recently. “All are equally important to me.”
ECM Press Release – October 13, 2023
For more information visit www.johnscofield.com and/or https://ecmrecords.com/product/uncle-johns-band-john-scofield/
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