Aural Fixations

THE JOHN SCOFIELD BAND
Überjam
(Verve)
Despite nearly a hundred years of constant evolution, jazz is still considered to be a music to be boxed in to a certain sound and a certain era—petrified in amber, as it were. The rules state that "real" jazz doesn't use electric instruments (never mind that the electric guitar has been a jazz mainstay since the late 30s), doesn't incorporate popular music forms (despite the fact that jazz has always covered popular standards), doesn't pander to the masses (forgetting for the moment that Louis Armstrong, arguably jazz's greatest figure, was a shameless showman). Jazz, according to the pundits, should stay "pure," whatever that means.

But jazz is only as good as its innovators. Sure, there are tons of great musicians making jazz the old-fashioned way, with traditional arrangements inspired by bop and postbop, acoustic instruments, at least a couple of standards per album, etc. But the future of jazz has always lain in the hands of artists willing to break the rules and set new standards. John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, Carla Bley and Dizzy Gillespie became the revered figures they are by never resting on their laurels and always moving forward. They kept up with current technology and paid attention to popular music, taking what they wished from each and incorporating it into their own visions.

Guitarist John Scofield deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those luminaries. He has always followed his own muse without regard to the opinions of purists, trusting in his audience to appreciate what he does and in his own abilities to carry his visions across. He started out in the 70s playing fusion with Billy Cobham, eventually ending up in Miles Davis' funky electric band of the early 80s. When he went solo, he continued down the path of hipshaking fusion, melding his tradition-minded playing with backbeats that came down on the one. The nineties found him sampling all sorts of approaches, from straightahead jazz to acoustic balladry to R&B-flavored organ trios. (more)

Stagestruck

ISTANPITTA
@Borders, Austin, TX; February 23, 2002
A bookstore seems like an odd place to see a concert, but thank goodness for Borders' willingness to become a venue. Without it, a band like Istanpitta (an Italian word that means, essentially, "stamping dance") might find it difficult to find a place to play. The Houston-based ensemble revives the dance music of the medieval and Renaissance eras, performing song styles called Estampies, Salterellos and Chansons as if the musicians were traveling bards singing for their supper. This is not Celtic music; while certain strains of what we've become familiar with as Celtic folk are certainly present, most of these pieces have their origins in France, Italy and Spain. There's also a definite Arabic flavor to the melodies, adapted from the Moorish culture permeating Europe in the 10th through 15th centuries; the quartet threw in Turkish and Bulgarian tunes as well. Even elements of what we now call klezmer made themselves heard from time to time. While it's tempting to recommend Istanpitta to fans of groups like the Chieftans, in truth the band has more in common with more eccentric and wide-ranging collectives like Dead Can Dance and Ekova. The breadth and depth of the melodic themes on display, connecting the musical cultures of Eastern and Western Europe, would give a musicologist a warm, fuzzy feeling all over. (more)