John Scofield band returns to the Bluebird

The John Scofield Band returned to the Bluebird for the first time in 25 years to pack the house with jazz aficionados, jam band junkies and guitarheads -- sometimes a little of all three. The crowd ranged from the Scofield worshippers shouting out requests and "John, you're a genius," to the curious people who just wanted to know what the unpredictable Scofield was up to this time.\nThe band started touring in February and has already played about 40 dates, said rhythm guitarist Avi Bortnick. John Scofield's ever-evolving style was confirmed once again. The set list consisted mostly of tracks from his new album, Uberjam, showcasing his recent fascination -- the Eastern influences -- effects-driven jazz-funk sound.\nAfronesis warmed up the crowd with an hour of mostly original jazz-fusion tunes and the occasional standard. Their style incorporated some '70s-style funky jazz filled with keyboard and guitar unisons and angular lead lines with plenty of effects on the guitar and keys, a fine compliment to "the man," as their drummer referred to him.\nThe two and a half hour concert was more of an experience than a show. From the dancing hippies to Scofield's onstage nostalgic trip back to his first time at the Bluebird, when he met his wife, the show was pure fun. The band members played off of each other and seemed to find inspiration in each others' solos and the crowd reaction. Drummer Adam Deitch's raps on tunes like "I Break 4 Monster Booty" and Scofield's siren wails, pick scrapes and wild harmonics kept the crowd going.\nLike the jazz cats from years past, The John Scofield Band is at their creative apex in front of their people, not confined to the pressures of the studio. The differences between the live performances and studio takes are immediately obvious. The live set allowed Scofield to expand the tunes into long, rocking jams that gave him more opportunities to get the crowd grooving. The extended jam format also gave the guitarist time to slowly craft his solos by taking more time to develop them. \nScofield never appeared to run out of ideas. As songs stretched into 10 minutes or more, they seemed to only get better. He patiently built the intensity before unleashing wild flurries of notes with an energy that seemed to be as endless as his flow of ideas.\nThough most of the material came from Uberjam, Scofield threw in a few popular tunes from Bump and some New Orleans-style jams to shift the mood. Even without the help of musicians Karl Denson and John Medeski, who added their talents to the album, the band sounded as big as ever. Highlights from the new album like the title track and "Ideofunk" were transformed into epic jams with plenty of solos and a more aggressive sound than on the album.\nWhile signing autographs after the show, Scofield said he would like to release a live album. This would be a great opportunity for all to really hear just how far this band stretches the limits of what can be done musically. Like many great musicians of the past, The John Scofield Band must be heard live to really get the full effect.