It's great how the American guitarist John Scofield honors the man who just sits next to him playing bass guitar on this trio album. That is of course Steve Swallow, not only an important innovator of the jazz bass guitar but also a gifted composer who played with long time and has been a regular member of his life partner 's trio for many . Scofield was taught by him again, through Burton, when
… he was a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Swallow's compositions always stayed with him and he now plays them with Swallow and on drums his loyal accompanist Bill Stewart. Swallow Tales is a real guitar album with Scofield in the role of traditional jazz guitarist. His sound is warm and clean and his fingers rage regularly across the neck. Swallow also plays smoothly and virtuosically. In the long run this will sound a bit uniform, although guitarists and bassists will listen to the album with open mouths. (MR)more
