Neither Abercrombie or Scofield has made his name as a standards player, though you can bet that both have got that side of things pretty well covered, and this new record proves it. There is some original work here – two by Abercrombie (Even Steven and Sing Song) and one by Scofield (Small Wonder), but otherwise it’s ‘dues playing’ all the way.
The guitar duo format is not easily made interesting, and the two Johns, presumably aware of this, have arranged the tunes for variety. Sometimes they solo simultaneously, with no rhythm section, in a kind of sparring contest, sometimes one supports the other’s solo with chords, perhaps running a bass line as well, and once, on Solar, the tune is not played until the end. Sometimes, duo problems are avoided as the pair become a quartet.
Both guitarists perform within the conventional constraints of the bebop/mainstream idiom, and neither of their personalities, which are so evident in more contemporary contexts, are fully apparent. Four On Six illustrates how Abercrombie’s sound and phrasing is marginally more traditional than Scofield’s, but in the end neither of them is the outstanding voice.
To get the most from this album, the listener will have to accept the limitations of this format and listen carefully and sympathetically in order to appreciate the subtle pastel shades of this music. Repeated listening pay dividends. It is, as they say, ‘a grower’. Mark Gilbert
Discography
Solar; Even Steven; Four On Six*; Sing Song (23.36) – Small Wonder*; I Should Care; If You Could See Me Now* (18.59)
John Abercrombie (g/el mandolin); John Scofield (g); George Mraz (b) and Peter Donald (d) on the titles marked*. Recorded NYC, December 1983 and California, May 1982.
(Palo Alto PA 8031-N)
