The name ScoLoHoFo derives from the names of the four jazz heavies in this quartet: Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Dave Holland and Al Foster. The four musicians converged for tours in the late '90s and again last year, cutting this CD, "Oh!," at the end. The concern with a group like this is that their individual egos would get in the way. Unlike many all-star groups in the past, though, these four sync to create a work greater than the sum of its individual parts.
It helps that those parts are impressive and stylistically diverse. Saxman Joe Lovano's own quartets explore jazz with brawny expansiveness, though he has also recorded a big-band tribute, the lovely "52nd Street Themes." The influences of guitarist John Scofield -- Miles Davis and Charles Mingus -- show up in his own electric style, which mixes jazz fretwork with samples and drum 'n' bass rhythms. Bassist Dave Holland leads his own quintet and big band, which have produced stellar work ("Not for Nothin'," "Prime Directive," "What Goes Around") over the past two years. And drummer Al Foster, another Davis alumnus, has been the rhythmic force behind much of the best work of Horace Silver, Joe Henderson and Steve Kuhn -- to name just a few.
On "Oh!," each of these four contribute their individual styles but use them flexibly, at times counterposing sounds for delicate effects, and at other times putting their muscle into sharp exchanges. When Lovano squeals in energetic abandon, Scofield's guitar answers in different ways -- with quick, light chording on "In Your Arms," but with raucous grunts of approval on "The Dawn of Time." When Scofield slips into an elegant bop solo on the faster pieces, Foster kicks into a forward driving rhythm. On "The Winding Way," Holland's bass floats up freely to take part of the melody from Lovano's spacious lines. Underneath all this intricate swapping, Foster brushes and bats an interesting variety of rhythms.