Go There by Scott Sawyer

"THE BADDEST MOTHER F*****S I’VE HEARD IN 10 YEARS!" -- (Oteil Burbridge, world-renowned bass player on the "original" Go There", 8/1/04)

"Though Sawyer can swing cerebrally, solving prickly harmonic riddles like a mathematician, he’s at his best as a blue-collar improviser, combining earthy jazz and accessible blues that make the listener wanna holler." (Joe Vanderford)

"If you know Raleigh guitarist Scott Sawyer from only his jazz gigs and tours with jazz singer Nnenna Freelon, "Go There" (Doll) opens a different door. Welcome to Scott Sawyer, the funk, rock, blues -- and jazz -- player....With a preponderance of Sawyer tunes, the album is all groove underneath....If you're looking for a pure, hard-line jazz album, this is not it. But if you think it represents a compromise, think again. It's its own species." (Owen Cordle (N&O May 2007; Raleigh, NC)

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Excerpt:

Guitar Man Scott Sawyer

By Philip van Vleck

Scott Sawyer is one of North Carolina’s guitar masters. Jazz-wise enough to back Durham-based vocalist Nnenna Freelon on several national and international tours, yet nasty enough to handle the lead guitar chores for Mel Melton & The Wicked Mojos. And, of course, between 1999 and 2004 Sawyer teamed with Kenny Soule and Bobby Patterson — late of Dag — to form Go There, a trio with a finely honed jazz fusion thing.

Sawyer is set to release a new album this month — Go There — and the feel of the tunes, while referencing both blues and jazz, is neither. The album is, indeed, a revisiting of Sawyer and Soule’s Go There band project, inspired, according to Sawyer, by Soule. In describing his new disc, Sawyer noted first that it’s an instrumental outing: “To me it’s not a jazz record, but some people might consider it a jazz record because it has a lot of improvisation,” Sawyer allowed. “It doesn’t swing in the traditional sense, however; it’s more groove oriented. As you know, I have a blues background, and you’ll definitely hear that on the album. I really don’t know what to call it. It’s somewhere in between jam band, jazz, funk, rock and blues. I’ll leave it up to the listener to decide.”

To this listener, Go There sounds like a righteous amalgam of jazz, funk, rock and blues performed by a crew of very solid players. For immediate inspiration, check the brilliant, funkified arrangement of George Harrison’s “Tax Man.” Also note the 12-minute tour-de-force “I Wish You Would” and the blues “Slow Down, Freight Train.”

The crucial thing with Go There is the musicianship. Everyone is simply outstanding. In addition to Soule’s pivotal contribution on drums and ideas, Sawyer noted that: “I had two bass players: Ron Brendle played acoustic bass on three songs and Oteil Burbridge played electric bass on the rest of the tunes. Kofi Burbridge, Oteil’s brother, played Hammond B-3 on 10 of the 11 tunes, and he also played some flute.”

Many rock fans will recognize Kofi for his role with the Derek Trucks Band. His brother, Oteil, is well known to fans of The Allman Brothers Band, as well as those who follow his band Oteil & The Peacemakers. Oteil is something of a bass-playing icon. Sawyer scored a major coup in snagging him for Go There. ...(the complete article is at www.metronc.com/article/?id=1292)

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