This was the only U.K. visit of John Scofield’s Long Days Quartet, the name apparently inspired by the long summer days of this July tour. It was also an opportunity for Scofield to reconnect with John Medeski.
Talk from the stage was limited with just introductions of the band members so that none of the numbers were introduced. The repertoire consisted mainly of new numbers, featuring a high degree of improvisation – John Medeski commented that their written setlist wasn’t bearing much resemblance to what they actually played. Musically though, we were in familiar territory.
After a brief tune up, the band opened with a blues number with Scofield’s fluid guitar lines over a repeating motif and a spacey piano solo. It was an opportunity for Ted Poor to solo, which brought a smile to Scofield. Ted was working hard on drums, so much that he’d discarded his jacket by the second number.
Much of the evening’s music was groove-based, driven by the tireless Ted Poor and bassist Vicente Archer. When the music called for it, they provided sensitive backing to the ballads and quieter moments. One number was a beautiful ballad, stripped down to basics to allow the melody to sing out. Medeski produced a gorgeous slow-paced piano solo. Another laid back number with a distinct Wes Montgomery vibe was played with a backbeat which then morphed into a languid extended jam.
The slower numbers provided contrast with the faster paced numbers. There were echoes of Sco’s Uberjam work (complete with his sitar/guitar hybrid sound) and his ventures into Americana. One new number ,with a working title of Funk W, was indeed downright funky with Sco laying down rhythm guitar behind Medeski’s playing the Hammond.
Other numbers had Sco tearing it up. One sounded like it took its cue from the early days of rock’n’roll. Scofield produced a coruscating solo that was pure fusion and had everyone rocking in the pews. It drew a rapturous reception from the audience that made Sco smile and comment that it was “Good to be back in London”. The final number was in more contemporary Scofield territory, again with him rocking it out with another storming solo. This had the audience on their feet and when the applause finally died down, we’d hit the 10:30 curfew.
This was a vintage performance by John Scofield. The quartet played marvellously but there was deep satisfaction in hearing the two Johns rekindle their musical partnership.Their sympathetic musicianship was a joy to hear. It would be a shame if there wasn’t a permanent record of this material.
John Scofield – Ibanez AS-200 guitar
John Medeski – Hammond B3 organ, piano
Vicente Archer – double bass
Ted Poor – drums
