Überjam
Like his most famous employer,Miles Davis, John Scofield has had his own classic band eras. With Bill Stewart, Marc Johnson, and Joe Lovano he used his  distinctive playing and compositional skills to bring a freshness to the  sound of the straight-ahead jazz quartet; and on his 1987Pick Hits Live, he and cohorts Dennis Chambers, Gary Grainger, and Robert Aries used a piercing  intelligence to temper fusion's athletics. His more recent funk efforts have  suffered; some from the sensitive but "grease"-deficient work of Larry  Goldings and some from a general excess of politeness.Bumpwas an  interesting, if tepid, foray into modern hip-hop grooves, but hitting the road in front of thePhish/MMWcrowd has forged that sound and his road band into something to be reckoned with. It is no accident thatUberjamis credited to the John Scofield Band; the title tune was created by the members  over three years of road dates. Far from being a pastiche, it demonstrates  the cohesive unit that this group has become. Whether it is rhythm-guitar wiz  Avi Bortnick adding Indian samples to Jesse Murphy's dub bass on "Acidhead,"  or formerAverage White Banddrummer Adam Deitch laying in the phat-ist of  phat grooves, it is apparent that Scofield has come up with another classic  ensemble--one well equipped to take jazz into the 21st century.--Michael Ross