Named for the Grateful Dead song that concludes this inspired double album, Uncle John’s Band features masterful guitarist John Scofield at his most freewheeling. Wide ranging repertoire finds his trio with Vicente Archer and Bill Stewart tackling material from Dylan’s “Mr Tambourine Man” to Neil Young’s “Old Man”, from Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere” to the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool classic “Budo”.

And jazz standards including “Stairway to the Stars” and “Ray’s Idea” rub shoulders with seven Scofield originals that are variously swing, funk and folk-inflected. The red thread through the programme is the trio’s tremendous improvisational verve. “I feel like we can go anywhere,” says John Scofield of the group’s multi-directional versatility. Uncle John’s Band was recorded at Clubhouse Studio in Rhinebeck, New York, in August 2022.

CD 1:
1. Mr. Tambourine Man
2. How Deep
3. TV Band
4. Back In Time
5. Budo
6. Nothing Is Forever
7. Old Man

The first disc opens on the luxuriant Mr. Tambourine Man and the finger-snapper How Deep and then proceeds to bring us the funky rhythmic delights of TV Band, the methodical Back In Time, the upbeat Budo and the organic Nothing Is Forever and then rounds out on the melodic Old Man.

CD 2:
1. The Girlfriend Cord
2. Stairway To The Stars
3. Mo Green
4. Mask
5. Somewhere
6. Ray’s Idea
7. Uncle John’s Band

The second disc opens on the playful The Girlfriend Cord and the late night shuffle within Stairway To The Stars and they are in turn followed by a dutifully sculpted Mo Green, the jazzy-pop sense of Mask, then come the languishing Somewhere, the buoyant Ray’s Idea, the collection closing on the relaxing and yet confidently strident titular Uncle John’s Band.

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