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"

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.

This album is simply one of the most unique, melodic, musical, and utterly GROOVING albums ever, not to mention the best of all of Sco's great albums. If you can imagine the harmony of Charles Ives, Stravinsky, or Debussy backed up by what's probably the most smoking rhythm section I've ever heard (as well as some of the best guitar improvisation and tones ever) you'll at least be on the right track...

For those of you who have some of his newer stuff, most of these songs are kind of the vein of "Fez" off of BUMP. Drummer Omar Hakim and bassist Daryl Jones play quite busily on this disc, but still somehow manage to leave plenty of space, a tribute to their many sessions played in the studio. Gosh, these songs are excellent--from the spacy vibe of "Techno" to the absolute lyrical beauty of the title track to the all-out frenzy of "Protocal", there ain't a bad tune in the bunch. It's a shame that this is out of print, but any of you musicians out there should do all in you power to get your hands on a used copy of this (sorry, I'm not selling mine...). Trust me, you've never heard anything like it.

After the fusion's heyday of the seventies, the eighties saw very little truly interesting or innovative music of that type. It seems that fusion was giving way to what was to be later called 'smooth jazz'. It was during this lean time that a former band member of the founder of fusion (Miles Davis) records what might be one of the best fusion records of all time: John Scofield's 'Still Warm'.

True to form, Scofield is best when he surrounds himself with top drawer players: drummer Omar Hakim of Weather Report and Sting fame; bassist Daryl Jones, now a member of a rather exclusive club called the Rolling Stones; and the late, overlooked master pianist/composer/arranger, Don Grolnick. Another legendary bass player, Steve Swallow, produced the session.

From the opening notes on 'Techno', it's quite clear that these musicians are going to play at the high level that they are capable of. Hakim and Jones join together in a bass/drum interplay that lesser musicians cannot possibly pull off. Scofield patiently makes his statement in pieces, keeping all three musicians front and center. Meanwhile, Grolnick's synthesizers stay out of the way, providing just enough texture to paint a background against which the others fill the details. The title song has a somewhat bluesy feel, with a gradually building climax on drums that slowly comes into focus. 'Protocol' is a tricky tune that shows off Scofield's ability to treat a song like a puzzle. 'Rule of Thumb' also presents a chellenging setting for Scofield, who attacks such assignments with typical agility. 'Picks and Pans' starts with a sense of foreboding to Sco's dark solo, becoming more aggressive with each bar. 'Gil 643' wraps up the whole thing on a softer note.

As the previous review suggested, 'Still Warm' is a great introduction into jazz. While on the surface it seems to be more rock and funk than jazz, it has as much subtleties and complexities as some of the more sophisticated straight jazz. Each listen will reveal something new to your ears.

If you are interested in adding a John Scofield to your CD collection, strongly consider 'Still Warm'. You might find yourself adding more his records after hearing this one a few times.

I take no exception to the writer's regard for this album.Easily the finest work of Scofied's fusion period, "StillWarm" offers some of the best writing and most perfect guitar solos of the entire fusion genre. Think I'm kidding? Check out the way Scofield blows over the vamp on "Techno" or works the very sophisticated changes of "Picks and Pans." Two very different tunes, both graced with perfect, inevitable sounding guitar breaks. It speaks highly of the sidemen here (Grolnik, Hakim, and Jones) that their work is of the same caliber. As I said at the outset, this was my first exposure to jazz, and I don't know that I've heard any disc since that tops both its visceral and cerebral appeal, for me. It's essential Scofield, by any standard.