Emarcy/Universal

The most immediately striking characteristic of the latest album by fusion guitar great John Scofield is the frequent squall of a Fender Telecaster in his supremely capable hands. His signature dissonant and sinewy lines are ever-present, but given an added bite and precision via the solid-body instrument. Otherwise, this record will feel familiar to readers of this magazine due to the re-assembly of his Uberjam band, consisting of rhythm guitarist Avi Bortnick, bassist Andy Hess and alternating drummers Adam Deitch and Louis Cato. The album plays out like Sco’s funky journey through an atlas of different styles core to the jamband universe. Shades of everything from Daptone to Royal Family fill in the edges around Sco’s distinct harmonies, while serving as a logical continuation of this particular group’s output. At times, he reaches a little too far, as on the reggae jam “Dub Dub,” but when the band lays into a comfortable groove, like the sublime John Medeski-assisted “Al Green Song,” Scofield clearly demonstrates what makes him such a valuable addition to the jamband family.