JAZZ REVIEWS : John Scofield Offers Lesson in Funk

John Scofield’s back in his funk bag again.

The highly regarded guitarist--he won both the Down Beat readers’ and critics’ polls this year--has moved freely through a variety of styles since he emerged on the jazz scene in the early ‘70s. But there was nothing particularly eclectic about the group he brought to Catalina Bar & Grill on Tuesday for the opening performance of a six-night run. Hard swinging, bristling with catchy melodies and driving rhythms, it was a down-and-dirty definition of funk jazz.

Scofield’s roots in blues and rock music have always been apparent, and never more so than in his present band, which features organist-pianist Larry Goldings, drummer Idris Muhammad and bassist Dennis Irwin, all players with similar skills and desires. Most of the opening set underscored those roots via a program dedicated, for the most part, to selections from “Groove Elation!,” Scofield’s current album.

As with many weeknight openings, the band started slowly, feeling their way around the room’s acoustics and not generating much musical heat in the opening numbers. But the relatively tepid beginning was no problem at all for the enthusiastic crowd--surprisingly large, given the presence of the season’s first rainstorm--that cheered every solo.

Scofield’s characteristically slipping and sliding solos zipped above the surface of the rhythm, and Goldings’ Jimmy Smith-inspired organ pumped out rolling lines of riffs. It was not until the veteran Muhammad cranked his percussion up another level, however, that the music finally shifted into high gear. By the time the last tune, a quirky, rhythmically disjunct Scofield original appropriately titled “Peculiar,” arrived, the band was cruising.

In a period when the jazz renaissance of the ‘90s is focusing on straight-ahead, mainstream music, Scofield’s easygoing, blues- and funk-based jazz may not be particularly politically correct, but there was no denying its visceral, foot-tapping audience appeal.

* John Scofield Quintet at Catalina Bar & Grill through Sunday. 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., (213) 466-2210. $13 cover tonight and Sunday for all shows; $15 cover Friday and Saturday for 8:30 p.m. shows; $13 cover for 10:30 p.m. shows. Two-drink minimum.