John Scofield has a talent for making interesting, quirky music by mixing funk grooves with unexpected sounds and novel turns, and that's certainly the case on this 1986 session produced by Steve Swallow. Bassist Darryl Jo... more »nes and drummer Omar Hakim lay down solid patterns for Scofield's compositions, while Don Grolnick adds unusual atmospheric textures with his keyboards. While the title tune has a warmly reassuring, bluesy quality and most of the tunes have strong grooves, "Rule of Thumb" and "Gil B643" have eerily spacey harmonies and "Protocol" has erratic choppy rhythms. Through it all, though, the band is always together, wandering into fresh musical terrain in tight formation. --Stuart Broomer« less
John Scofield has a talent for making interesting, quirky music by mixing funk grooves with unexpected sounds and novel turns, and that's certainly the case on this 1986 session produced by Steve Swallow. Bassist Darryl Jones and drummer Omar Hakim lay down solid patterns for Scofield's compositions, while Don Grolnick adds unusual atmospheric textures with his keyboards. While the title tune has a warmly reassuring, bluesy quality and most of the tunes have strong grooves, "Rule of Thumb" and "Gil B643" have eerily spacey harmonies and "Protocol" has erratic choppy rhythms. Through it all, though, the band is always together, wandering into fresh musical terrain in tight formation. --Stuart Broomer
"This is one of those fusion albums that comes around once in a blue moon, where the song writing matches the always virtuoso playing we've come to expect from this genre. The tunes are full of mood and feeling, and the hot-shot instrumental technique is there, but never to the detriment of the lush vibe found from one end of the recording to the other.Omar Hakim and Darryl Jones, once Sting's peerless rhythm section, really lay down some fantastic grooves for Scofield to weave his dark magic over. Some really ambient yet driving soloing and riffing going on here, in one of JS's most musical creations to date."
The Definitive Jazz Fusion Guitar Album
Michael T. Manns | Plymouth, Minnesota United States | 04/06/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first time I heard "Still Warm" was in Rotterdam, the Netherlands where I was living in the fall of 1986. I was familiar with Scofield from the Miles Davis sessions in the early 80s, but I had lost track of him. These cuts, especially "Still Warm", "Techno" and "Picks and Pans" are ridiculously good, with eloquent phrasings, and inspired interplay. This album seems to pick up all of the artists at their prime, including Omar Hakim on drums, Darryl Jones on bass and the late Don Grolnick on keyboards. If you have to own one jazz guitar fusion CD from the 80s, own "Still Warm""
John had Sco-much 2 say...
Richard T. Hall | USA | 03/20/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I concur with what other reviewers have posted. One of the truly original voices on the electric guitar. This is arguably THE record that really put John on blast. This should be required listening for all fans of progressive jazz, whether you play guitar or not. Fave cuts are: Techno, Still Warm, Protocol, and Rule of Thumb. Jones, Hakim, and Gronlick provide a solid backdrop for Scofield's outside, bluesy/bop harmonic approach and gritty, chorus heavy guitar tone. His playing also envokes a certain deliberation; probably picked up from his previous employer, Miles Davis. Yeah, it does sound a little dated(it was released back in 1986 after all, over 20 years ago. Damn, I'm getting old.) Still, this stands as a landmark jazz guitar recording that should not be ignored."
The best of all time.....as simple as that.
alepanzino | firenze,italy | 04/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"i bought this cd during the 80s (the 80s.....) since i,m a 42 italian guitarist and at that time i was around 18...let 's go to the point.this cd is just perfect. it has everything you could possibly ask for a cd and then some...and then even more.some cd's have great compositions but the sound is bad...some have great sounds but the songs are weak...some have great solos but the rest sucks....some have the rest good but the solos are NOT so good... some have nice music but the band sucks..exetera.it is so rare to find a cd that has everything just perfect.In this cd,Each song tells you a story and each song has a five straight stars AAA+ (IMO)in terms of every little thing you have to consider when you analize a composition.jazz to me it is not just great solos on some chords with no musicality..HERE YOU HAVE MUSIC!! real great tunes played by the finest musicians (omar hakim on drums, darryl jones on bass and don grolnich on keyboard...boy he could not have chosen better than them) and the solos......just FANTASTIC.....again when i say that this is just the best of all time (IMO) i mean it. he have done so many great albums so it is really hard to tell and of course is primarly a matter of personal taste, but if you like john scofield and for some reason you didn't buy this cd yet....consider this:STILL WARM is a MUST HAVE in your own JS collection...and just for curiosity...probably John didn't have any idea that the title of the cd was so appropriate:it has passed more than 20 years but this INCREDIBLE cd, after all these years..... it is.....STILL WARM!