John Scofield

The eminent jazz guitar maestro has nothing to prove at this point in his career but that’s what makes this instrumental record groovy. The opening volley of fragmented guitar licks and baritone sax interludes ("The Low Road”) that are deliciously bizarro belies the more sedate ("Down D”), ambient ("Shoe Dog”) and altogether pleasantly "outside” numbers ("Pretty Out,” Charlie Rich’s "Behind Closed Doors,” featuring Bill Frisell on tremolo guitar). But guests be damned (and no, Medeski, Martin and Wood aren’t on this one). Whether he’s handling "Satisfaction” (a slick cover) and "House of the Rising Sun” in his own treble trademark or showing off his considerable chops (especially on "Heck of A Job,” echoed there by the horn section), this is 30 years of consummate jazz musicianship talking, and it’s well worth the listen.