JAZZ REVIEW : Scofield Mixes It Up With Mastery

John Scofield, the guitarist who played with Charles Mingus, Billy Cobham and Jay McShann, among others, before coming of age with Miles Davis in the early 1980s, brought his trio to the Catalina Bar and Grill.

An infrequent visitor to the Southland, Scofield was greeted on the first night of his weekend gig with enthusiasm by a sparse crowd at the Hollywood night club. Considering the man’s talents, the place should have been packed to the rafters. Working with bassist Anthony Cox and drummer John Riley, Scofield presented a set that mixed his own compositions with those of the standard jazz repertoire. In each instance, Scofield’s technical mastery was matched by his musicianly approach.

Though a trio setting for any soloist can pose problems, this one didn’t for Scofield. Bassist Cox, whose solos were quite imaginative, played a larger part in quelling any sense of emptiness in the group’s sound with his full sound and powerful harmonic structuring. So, too, did drummer Riley help fill any gaps with his “brush fire” of rhythmic activity.

Scofield plays with a purposely distorted but attractively full sound, while never disguising his melodic or harmonic intent. His illustrious musical background provided him with an eclectic approach that, on “All the Things You Are,” for instance, had him starting in a be-bop mode before finding a raucous and bluesy midsection that would have delighted Jimi Hendrix fans. He returned to be-bop with liberal “From Thelonious Monk.”

Though his music is enough to recommend Scofield to anyone interested in jazz, his presentation will disappoint those looking to be entertained. Hunched over his guitar, his level of seriousness is that of an artist--not of a nightclub performer.