Schofield’s ‘Ear to the Ground’ has been a bit of a favourite of mine this last year. I really like its mix of blues-rock jazz and funk, okay I will admit there isn’t much that is new in Schofield’s music, but his muse is definitely in the right place.Schofield is a phenomenally talented blues guitar player and is often compared to Robben Ford for the way he mixes jazz lines and unusual chord voicings into his blues. The other thing that sets him apart from the usual blues plodders is the organ trio format (guitar, Hammond organ, drums) – recalling Jimmy Smith and giving everything a tight mod groove.
The trio’s first set was great, playing key tracks from recent albums, but things really took off after the mid set break. Schofield ripping through covers of Albert Collins' "Lights Are On, But Nobody's Home" and the Box Tops’ “The Letter” (by way of Sly Stone’s “If You Want Me To Stay”) allowing Schofield and the trio to demonstrate their impressive blues/jazz/funk chops, eeking out every last drop of emotion from his battered 70’s Strat. In short this was everything that the Robben Ford gig should have been (see recent review), the difference being that Schofield played as though he really meant it.
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