This encounter between jazz-fusion guitar star John Scofield and young German pianist Pablo Held’s trio will be just the ticket for Scofield followers who know him for his imposing jazz credentials as well as his funky, jam-band ones. Two tunes here are Scofield’s, two are Held’s, and the finale is a delicate jazz-ballad interpretation of Joni Mitchell’s Marcie, which the guitarist paints with all the soft hues his famous textural creativity offers him. Scofield delves back into something near the jazz phrasing of Wes Montgomery or Kenny Burrell on Held’s Cameo, which begins with impressionistic trickles and guitar effects and shakes itself into fluent swing over Robert Landfermann’s bass-walk. Scofield’s own Kubrick/Camp Out starts with unaccompanied musings on slinky elisions and bluesy chords, moving on to mix swing, dissonant arco-bass improv, and a time-juggling piano solo. Imaginary Time, a collage of brightly chiming melody, stop-time breaks and sly buildups, brings the house down at Cologne’s Philharmonic Hall. It’s a fascinating fresh setting for a unique guitarist who always means business.
