I recently caught Vicente Archer with Peter Bernstein and Al Foster and his playing was just jaw dropping. Checked out an interview with Greg Bryant on YT afterwards that was really hip! Very cool to learn more about his background
I heard the Scofield Quartet in Chicago in 1992. Insane that this was 32 years (!) ago and, worse, that I was already 29.
Loved that group. Always felt that sonically and conceptually, they offered an unusually broad, state-of-the-art summary of the mainstream — they might swing intensely over Rhythm or Honeysuckle Rose changes for 20 minutes, with Irwin’s gut-string pulse connecting to hard bop and Stewart evoking the lithe flexibility of early Tony; or they could stretch out modally or lay into a fusiony backbeat with Scofield’s idiomatic guitar sound and Stewart anchoring the vibe—but with the acoustic bass keeping a window open to the core tradition. Also, this might be my favorite Lovano—loose but still digging into the beat, not as blurry as he would become.
I recently caught Vicente Archer with Peter Bernstein and Al Foster and his playing was just jaw dropping. Checked out an interview with Greg Bryant on YT afterwards that was really hip! Very cool to learn more about his background
Nice piece.
I heard the Scofield Quartet in Chicago in 1992. Insane that this was 32 years (!) ago and, worse, that I was already 29.
Loved that group. Always felt that sonically and conceptually, they offered an unusually broad, state-of-the-art summary of the mainstream — they might swing intensely over Rhythm or Honeysuckle Rose changes for 20 minutes, with Irwin’s gut-string pulse connecting to hard bop and Stewart evoking the lithe flexibility of early Tony; or they could stretch out modally or lay into a fusiony backbeat with Scofield’s idiomatic guitar sound and Stewart anchoring the vibe—but with the acoustic bass keeping a window open to the core tradition. Also, this might be my favorite Lovano—loose but still digging into the beat, not as blurry as he would become.
Anyway, onward.