Combining the talents of tenor saxophonist
Joe Lovano
, guitarist
John Scofield
, bassist
Dave Holland
, and drummer
Al Foster
, there is an uncredited fifth member on
jazz
supergroup
Scolohofo
's debut recording,
Oh!
--
Miles Davis
. Every one of these musicians, except for
Lovano
, gained their first real success with the legendary trumpeter -- an experience that informs their careers to the present. The aesthetic on
is resolutely
Milesian
-- impressionistic, spare, soft, funky, progressive, but always with an ear to the
blues
. Scolohofoda? His sound is almost literally present, an "implied tone" whenever
Scofield
's dissonant chord clusters and
's whispery throat tones collide. These guys played with
Davis
in his later
fusion
period during the '70s and '80s when
' "group" aesthetic came to the fore and became perhaps even more important than his individual contribution. And, while everyone gets their featured solo spot, the overall effect is one of intensely soft and layered patches of sound.
's trademark "chicken scratch" lines match perfectly with
's fuzzy spittle tone and the rhythm section of
Holland
and
Foster
offers its own wryly propulsive counterpoint. Musically, the goal is resolutely
post-bop
, but with an acoustic, folky underpining that allows for some interestingly arranged melodic moments. This contrasts nicely with the free-flowing, loose
improvisation
informed by '60s
free jazz
,
, and modern progressive styles. Longtime fans of the work of these individual musicians will find much to enjoy here, but there is the sense of new or at least rediscovery on
-- another
trademark -- which bodes well for future collaborations. ~ Matt Collar