bouche Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 JOHN SCOFIELD Plays the Music of Ray Charles - Live in Seoul Friday, March 3, 2006 - Sejong Cultural Center Live Music Review By Kevin O'Neill John Scofield BUY Thats What I Say from Amazon House music aside, live music shows from international touring artists are few and far between in Seoul. From the past six months that I've been here, only a handful of loathsome acts have passed though: Backstreet Boys, Kenny G, Michael Bolton. The DJ scene is more promising, but even then its not very dependable. Paul Kruder (of Kruder & Dorfmeister) played a great show; but scheduled shows from Kid Koala, Diplo, and DJ Shortkut all fell through the cracks. Its surprising to me that more touring acts don't stop in Seoul, seeing as its one of the 10 biggest cities in the world, and in such close proximity to band-friendly Japan. Given this state of affairs, you can imagine my excitement upon seeing a John Scofield date pop up on Pollstar a few months ago. The show was held at the Sejong Cultural Centre, whose main theatre has 3 levels and seats just over 3000 people. This room regularly sees the likes of the Seoul National Philharmonic and is also the home of the largest pipe organ in Asia. On this occasion, there were noticably vacant globs of expensive seats on the floor, while the two balconies were fairly full. Scofield is currently touring in support of his latest album, "That's What I Say," a tribute to the late Ray Charles. Perhaps one of Scofield's most accessible works to date, the album includes cameos by Warren Haynes, Dr. John, Aaron Neville, John Mayer, Mavis Staples and others. The line-up for the Seoul date featured Dean Bowman (vocals), Gary Versace (Hammond B3, Wurlitzer), Steve Hass (drums) and Ruben Rodriquez (bass) - hired session hands who are easily up to the task. google_ad_client = "pub-8241045454770105"; google_ad_width = 250; google_ad_height = 250; google_ad_format = "250x250_as"; google_ad_type = "text_image"; google_ad_channel ="9487450232"; google_color_border = "FCFAED"; google_color_bg = "FCFAED"; google_color_link = "003366"; google_color_url = "003366"; google_color_text = "003366"; //--> It was billed as an 8pm show and I didn't get off work until 8:10pm, across town. I booted it but still managed to miss the opening act, and the first song or two of Scofield's set. As my friend and I entered the lobby I heard Scofield's slinky guitar work on "I Don't Need No Doctor". I kicked myself for missing one of my favourite tracks on the album, and finally we were shown into the theatre once the song ended. Our seats were as close as you could get to the band, but far stage right. As it turned out, Scofield's back was turned to us the whole night. Luck of the draw I guess. Dean Bowman, an amazingly talented soul singer who was once hailed by Sue Mingus as "the most important jazz vocalist since Bobby McFerrin," took the backseat for "Hit The Road Jack" and let Scofeild shine for a while. Obviously a crowd favourite, this tune got the biggest rise out of the audience for most of the set. Steady, on-beat clapping. "Sticks and Stones" came next; the funkiest, most exploratory song of the night for certain. Versace's Wurlitzer was sounding excellent and Scofield did some interesting stuff on his guitar. At one point he was holding the high frets with his right hand and scratching his coiled strings (E, A, D) with the thumb nail of his left hand, while working his wah pedal. I've never heard the sound created before; all I can really compare it to is record scratching. "Sticks and Stones" lasted about 10 minutes and was definitely one of the highlights of the set for me. Next came the dreamy "You Don't Know Me," a regretful balad that saw Bowman crooning us over. "Hallelujah I Love Her So," a Charles tune that is not featured on the album, saw Hass and Rodriquez flexing their chops in a drum and bass section that was really cool. Its amazing how far they can seemingly fall away from a beat recognizable to ordinary folk like myself but then intstanly come back to it. The highlight of the song, however, came from Bowman, who dropped a large scat upon us all. I've never really had much appreciation for the scat vocals, but tonight I believe was my first proper introduction. It was truly impressive; his vocal range is vast and he can be in many places almost simultaneously. He was doing these ululating cresendos that were nothing short of jaw-dropping. Scofield's beautiful extended introduction to "Georgia On My Mind" slowed things and brought about a strong applause from the crowd. "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "What'd I Say" finished off the set. After an applause which, I thought, left something to be desired, the band re-emerged for a two song encore. The first was "Unchain My Heart," another Charles tune not found on the Scofield's album. For this song they invited up Jeon Je-Deok as a special guest. Je-Deok was the opener for the show. He is a blind Korean harp player, probably in his early 30's. Je-Deok was led onto the stage and took a seat on a stool, stage right. He was clearly excited and took some inspired solos that had the rest of the band grinning wide. "Night Time Is The Right Time" brought the evening to a spirited close. Though lightly subdued given the nature of this particular project, there is no doubt that Scofield is on top of his game right now, and Seoulites were treated to a relaxed and delightful evening of music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 The Sejong Cultural Center is a beautiful venue, isn't it KevO? I got to see Jim Hall play there when I lived in Seoul. Oh, and I'm moving back there soon, so we'll have to meet up and go for a beer or nine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarahbelle Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 hamilton(((Brian)))when are U coming back!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Not sure yet... probably June or July. Sunghee is already back, as of two weeks ago. She lives near Jamsil Station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts