John Scofield - 1987 [2014] "Blue Matter"

 

Blue Matter is a studio album by jazz guitarist John Scofield that was released in 1986. It is the first of three recordings featuring Gary Grainger on bass guitar and Dennis Chambers on drums. The keyboards are played by Mitchel Forman with Don Alias providing percussion. Hiram Bullock is featured as second guitarist on three tracks.

One of the top jazz guitarists from the mid-1980s on, John Scofield has always had a very recognizable sound and the ability to combine together R&B/funk with advanced jazz. He is the lead voice throughout most of this release, performing eight of his originals with a group also including keyboardist Mitchel Forman, electric bassist Gary Grainger, drummer Dennis Chambers, percussionist Don Alias and (on three of the numbers) Hiram Bullock on rhythm guitar. Although not for jazz purists, who should get his slightly later Blue Note releases instead, this set should interest guitar freaks.

This 1986 session is one of Scofield's watershed dates. It was the first to feature the rhythm duo of bassist Gary Grainger and drummer Dennis Chambers (ex-Parliament/Funkadelic) that powered Scofield's successful live shows of the late '80s. Old friends Mitchel Forman (keyboards) and Don Alias (percussion) are also present, plus Hiram Bullock adding rhythm guitar on three tracks.

The presence of Hiram Bullock’s rhythm guitar on three tracks gives a good indication of Scofield’s approach on this album – it’s R’n’B/funk-based jazz/rock, with great grooves, neat chord changes and no gratuitious displays of instrumental technique for technique’s sake – though Scofield and Chambers were of course quite capable of some serious chops, evident on the killin’ ‘Trim’.

The dynamic title track is clearly influenced by Miles/Marcus Miller’s ‘Tutu’ with its half-time groove, walking synth bass and enigmatic chords, but Chambers’ brilliant contribution (closely monitored by the excellent Gary Grainger on bass) transforms it into something totally new.

In the first minute of the tune, he achieves a novel ‘bouncing ball’ snare drum effect and then unleashes some of the most kick-ass kick-drum playing in music history.

Chambers had already turned some heads playing with George Clinton, but, even if he had never picked up the sticks again after 1987, ‘Blue Matter’ would probably have put him right up in the drum pantheon.

‘Heaven Hill’ – named for Sco’s favourite brand of bourbon – a slow blues with surprising chord changes and tasty gospel-tinged piano playing by Mitch Forman, influenced a whole host of ‘fusion’ guitarist/composers such as Robben Ford, Scott Henderson and Frank Gambale (compare it to Henderson’s ‘Slidin’ Into Charlisa’).

‘Now She’s Blonde’, ‘Time Marches On’, ‘The Nag’ and ‘So You Say’ manage to be both funky and catchy while retaining enough harmonic interest and ‘dirt’ to go way beyond the smooth jazz tag.

The Blue Matter band got quite a live following around this time, with good reason. They were somewhat of an antidote to the Chick Corea Elektric Bands and Al Di Meolas of this world, as musically jaw-dropping as those artists were/are. Scofield himself acknowledged as much during an interview with Howard Mandel in 1988

Track listing:

All tracks written by John Scofield

    "Blue Matter" – 5:47
    "Trim" – 7:33
    "Heaven Hill" – 4:28
    "So You Say" – 4:34
    "Now She's Blonde" – 5:32
    "Make Me" – 2:53
    "The Nag" – 4:18
    "Time Marches On" – 7:32

Personnel:

    John Scofield – electric guitar
    Mitchel Forman – keyboards
    Hiram Bullock – electric guitar on "Blue Matter", "Now She's Blonde", and "Make Me"
    Gary Grainger – bass guitar
    Dennis Chambers – drums
    Don Alias – percussion