Enroute: Live

Enroute: Live, by John Scofield Trio

Enroute: Live documents performances recorded in December 2003 at New York's Blue Note. The band comprises Scofield, on guitar; drummer Bill Stewart and the venerable electric bassist, Steve Swallow. I have been returning to this CD for the better part of two years and have been consistently rewarded as new insights emerge with each subsequent listening. "Astonishing" is the word that comes to mind regarding the collective level of musicianship. Any album featuring either Sco or Stewart is something I will automatically want to check out and longtime collaborator Steve Swallow's steady presence seems to be the perfect catalyst to elevate the proceedings to the sublime. I have noted Swallow's similar effect on other groups; notably that of his own trio featuring saxophonist Chris Potter and drummer Adam Nussbaum. This feat is not accomplished via blazing technique, but rather, by unerring instinct for the right note, gorgeous timbre and a sense of swing that anchors the rhythm unambiguously. In short, this is the perfect platform for both Scofield's and Stewart's flights of fancy. The former deploys his usual pungent tone in the service of solos that are never predictable, frequently startling, and yet, paradoxically, seem almost preordained in their "rightness". Similarly, when Sco shreds (infrequently), the display of sheer chops does not seem gratuitous, which is unusual if not unprecedented in these days of dime a dozen guitar virtuosi. Stewart, for some time now has been my favorite drummer, bar none. His contributions to this album reinforce that assessment. Yikes!
In sum, three topflight musicians in absolutely transcendent form: Did I say "Yikes!" ?
-David