cott Jones can play just about anything he puts his mind to. Any doubts concerning this statement should be cleared easily after a quick visit to his website. Scott regularly posts snippets of his excursions into different styles - jazz, rock, country - you name it. Obviously there's a huge difference between a great player (which Jones has already proven himself to be) and an artist and what separates the men from the boys is original music which brings us to Scott's first release.
For those who thought Freedom would be all about chops think again. Freedom is first and foremost an album which highlights Jones' compositional and arranging abilities. Aside from Bill Elrod on sax, Jones sequenced the whole album himself, truly making it a solo album. The album kicks off with 'Muldar's Search' which sets the pace for things to come - unison lines, harmonically complex changes juxtaposed over challenging rhythms and burning guitar. The beauty is that Jones never sounds forced, he sounds just plain intense.
On S'corea, 'Beast of Burton' and 'Remember' Jones shines with some inspired clean toned, straight ahead jazz solos revealing his strong jazz background which sets him apart from the more rock based fusion. If from all the snippets he's posted one was left questioning whether Jones was merely a jack of all trades, in the context of his original material all of his abilities come into focus, melding into one coherent personal style. The album succeeds in pulling into focus all of Jones' abilities to reveal his personal style.
On 'From Nothing' Scott finally cuts loose with incredible results reminiscent at times of Holdsworth. 'One' and 'Think About It' follow keeping up the intensity, the former being one of the album's most melodic tunes. The sax returns on the bluesy 'Heartland', a gorgeous Stern-esque track which features some great bluesy playing. Closing the album with a bang is 'Every Time' which features some jaw dropping guitar.
Bottom line, Jones is much more than a phenomenal guitar player. Throughout the album he proves himself to be a mature composer and accomplished arranger. In that sense 'Freedom' is a real triumph for Jones. The one thing the album suffers from is lack of musical interplay. Though Jones' gets high marks for programming the whole album there is no doubt that the album would have benefited from live musicians. Hopefully, on his next recordings he'll be joined by players of his caliber who will be able to push him even further. To fully digest the depth and beauty of this album will require several plays but its well worth it. Highly recommended.
cott Jones can play just about anything he puts his mind to. Any doubts concerning this statement should be cleared easily after a quick visit to his website. Scott regularly posts snippets of his excursions into different styles - jazz, rock, country - you name it. Obviously there's a huge difference between a great player (which Jones has already proven himself to be) and an artist and what separates the men from the boys is original music which brings us to Scott's first release. 