Scofield and Lovano

[Milestones]

This has to be considered a very notable partnership.  I find the first album, Time on My Hands, to still be the best.  Two others followed pretty quickly, then later there was Oh!, which is unusual for the entire band contributing compositions.  I have been pleased by the recent Past Present, especially the opening track: "Slinky."

Scofield and Lovano also appear together on albums by Peter Erskine and Marc Johnson.

It's some of my favorite Scofield, and it's pretty remarkable how much he has written for this quartet.

  

[StarThrower]

I consider Time On My Hands to be Scofield's masterpiece! I felt this way as soon as I listened to it back in 1990. The material is brilliant, and so is the playing of the quartet. All the stars were aligned for that date. It's a classic!

I really love What We Do as well. More great writing from John. It's an excellent album. And my other favorite from that time is Grace Under Pressure.

Last spring I was listening to Past Present, and that's a strong album too. It must have been a terrible blow for John to lose his son, but he pays tribute to him in the titles of some of the tunes. I love Sco!

[JohnS]

I saw the Sco/Lovano Quartet Live.  One of the most memorable concerts I've attended.

[sidewinder]

4 hours ago, JohnS said:

I saw the Sco/Lovano Quartet Live.  One of the most memorable concerts I've attended.

Same here - that would be around 1992/93. Bill Stewart on drums I think. EXcellent group !

[StarThrower]

Bill Stewart deserves more praise and accolades. He's such a great player!

[JohnS]

6 hours ago, sidewinder said:

Same here - that would be around 1992/93. Bill Stewart on drums I think. EXcellent group !

Bill Stewart and Dennis Irwin on bass.

[sidewinder]

4 hours ago, JohnS said:

Bill Stewart and Dennis Irwin on bass.

Yes, Irwin on bass it was.

[BillF]

Irwin and Lovano were colleagues in the Mel Lewis Orchestra. I saw them in Wigan in 1989.

[Milestones]

Definitely some cool stuff from Bill Stewart on several of these records.  He is certainly one of the top guys on drums, and has been for more than two decades now.

Of course, there have been other fine drummers--DeJohnette on Time on My Hands, Al Foster on Oh!   Grace Under Pressure has also been mentioned in this golden period of Sco's in the early 90's.  Who was drummer on that one?  Joey Baron?

 

Edited August 22, 2016 by Milestones

[mjzee]

1 hour ago, Milestones said:

Definitely some cool stuff from Bill Stewart on several of these records.  He is certainly one of the tops guys on drums, and has been for more than two decades now.

Of course, there have been other fine drummers--DeJohnette on Time on My Hands, Al Foster on Oh!   Grace Under Pressure has also been mentioned in this golden period of Sco's in the early 90's.  Who was drummer on that one?  Joey Baron?

 

Sure was Baron.  My favorite Sco drummer might still be Adam Nussbaum.

[LouisvillePrez]

I got Oh! when it came out, and I never felt that it equaled the sum of its parts.  Maybe one or two tracks stood out, but on the whole it disappointed me.  

This thread has put Time on My Hands as something to check out. 

 

[Guy Berger]

On 8/20/2016 at 11:31 AM, Milestones said:

This has to be considered a very notable partnership.  I find the first album, Time on My Hands, to still be the best.  Two others followed pretty quickly, then later there was Oh!, which is unusual for the entire band contributing compositions.  I have been pleased by the recent Past Present, especially the opening track: "Slinky."

Scofield and Lovano also appear together on albums by Peter Erskine and Marc Johnson.

It's some of my favorite Scofield, and it's pretty remarkable how much he has written for this quartet.  

 

I have the first two albums as well as the most recent one.  All are enjoyable though I'd say the first two are a tier above.  I will say that this isn't music for people that want something reflective or "emotionally deep"; it's high-quality, fun overachiever/smart-aleck music.

Guy