LIVE

A double live album (in duration anyway) nowadays, but this album was apparently released as a single disc affair back then. Indeed it appears that the German label Enja unearthed some leftover tracks from the Nov 4th/77 night and plastered them on the Cd reissue, much to the benefit of the original album, who becomes probably Scofield's must-have release of the 70's. One of the goodies about this Live album (other than giving a glimpse of the live facet of Scofield) is that the spotlight is shared with the keyboardist Richard Beirach. All songs are originals except for an exceptional rendition of the classic Morning Sunrise closing the album in an excellent manner.

Scofield's usual 70's studio works usually flickers between electrified jazz and some steamier forms of JR/F and this was also valid on stage as this album can testify. Sonically-speaking, Scofield's guitar style oscillate between Abercrombie, Coryell, Philip Catherine, Pat Metheny, and most of his releases of the era is in the same sonic zones as those I just mentioned, so you should get a good idea on how this sounds, despite it being live and featuring some brilliant keyboards from Beirach, especially on his composition Leaving or the Scofield- penned Air Pakistan and Jeannie. Not too many useless and never-ending unaccompanied solos either on the album, with the exception of two not-too-lengthy drum solo. Sooooooo, if you must own only one Scofield album from his early career, I can only suggest you this one, but I think that there are a few more goodies from the 90's as well.