John Scofield continued to use his Verve Records contract for unusual outings -- like this one, his third release for the label, following the acoustic disc
Quiet and
A Go Go (which featured
Medeski, Martin, and Wood). On
Bump, he retained bassist Chris Wood and added
Tony Scherr and
Kenny Wollesen (the rhythm section from
Sex Mob), keyboardist Mark De Gli Antoni from
Soul Coughing, and drummer Eric Kalb and conga player Johnny Durkin from
Deep Banana Blackout. Such sidemen allowed him to delve even more deeply into the second-line funk he had explored earlier in his career; indeed, "Three Sisters," the leadoff track, sounded like something
Allen Toussaint might have produced for
the Meters in the early '70s. The focus was always on the guitarist, and
Scofield could remind you of
Carlos Santana (on "Swinganova") or evoke
Jeff Beck (on "Fez"). For the most part, however, he sounded like himself back in his days with
Miles Davis, though by now, his playing was less busy and more fluid. ~ William Ruhlmann