Our annual Summer Stars series features a variety of groups making the rounds on the festival circuit. Today we feature John Scofield. We’ve also checked in with The Lumineers, Futurebirds, Tea Leaf Green and moe..

After a long, dreary winter, John Scofield is eager to get out and get down.

“It’s great to finally go outside and play in summer,” he says. “There’s nothing like it. I’m glad the cold weather’s almost over and here we go…”

This time, he’ll be making the rounds with a former festival favorite, John Scofield’s Überjam Band. The group, named after his 2002 album Überjam, features the core group that toured in support of that record and 2003’s Up All Night: Avi Bortnick on rhythm guitar and samples, Andy Hess on bass (Brazilian Girls bassist Jesse Murphy held the role in the early days of the ensemble) and Adam Deitch on drums. (Louis Cato and Tony Mason will move behind the kit on various dates when Deitch is gigging with Break Science.)

Scofield made the decision to reconvene the group late last year, after some ongoing creative discussions with Bortnick yielded a number of collaborative ideas.

“The initial rehearsal, when we all played together, was such a beautiful thing that I had to say, ‘OK, we can’t rehearse anymore, we have to go in the studio to capture this vibe,’ which is what we did.” They released the resulting album, Überjam Deux, in late May, drawing on “funk, Afrobeat, reggae, house music, R&B…and a lot of what’s in between,” he says.

Scofield will pull double duty at the Gathering of the Vibes, also performing with Phil Lesh & Friends. He credits the Grateful Dead bassist as the inspiration that carries into his own group. “Phil is such a free spirit in terms of how he lets improvisation come into his music,” reflects the guitarist. “He’s fearless about that and it makes me realize how much people want creativity in the music and how they want you to stretch out.” *

Album for a Hot Summer Night: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue. It’s got the nighttime vibe.

Summer Drink: You’re talking to someone who hasn’t had a drop of alcohol for 14 years so, for me, it would have to be lemonade – freshly made with real lemons, spiked with whatever you want to put in there. To each his own.

Festival Stops: High Sierra, Halifax Jazz, All Good, Gathering of the Vibes, Telluride Jazz Celebration, SCI Horning’s Hideout, more.