Live Three Ways

Rating:
Summary: Scofield Does It Yet Again! Great Concert DVD!
Review: Not many jazz DVDs come out that feature players that I have interest in. When I heard John Scofield was going to release an older concert DVD, I was thrilled. This DVD was filmed in 1990 at the Chelsea in New York City.

I want to first talk about the sound quality: it's simply put....superb. Incredible instrument seperation and the clarity of overall audio is suprisingly good considering that this concert was shot 15 years ago. The picture is also suprisingly good. It's nice and clear, and though it's a little milky. It's still great quality for 1990.

Then there are the performances, Scofield performs in three different settings: the first set is him in trio with Don Pullen on Hammond B-3 Organ and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums. I love this trio setting because it really captures a different side of Scofield. My hats are off the late, great Don Pullen (whom I found out died), because what he did on the organ is astounding. Not only did he play the leads and the rhythms, but he played the bass using bass pedals all at the same time, thus resulting in a very full sound. I just couldn't believe it.

The second set is Scofield in duet with Dr. John. They perform some blues songs and really is a nice contrast to the heavily jazzed first set.

The third and final set, which is my favorite, is with a quartet. This quartet features Joe Lovano on tenor saxophone, Anthony Cox on bass, and John Reilly on drums. This set is amazing as this group pulls out all the stops with some mind-blowing jazz. John Scofield really cuts loose in this set.

Anyone who's a fan or potential fan of John Scofield's please do yourself a favor and pick this up. You don't want to miss out on these performances.