Jon Scofield and a band of world-class musicians entertained and lifted the spirits of a packed house, one of the most diverse audiences I’ve ever seen on the Seacoast, from neo-hippy 19-year-olds to 60-year-old jazz connoisseurs, plus an eclectic collection of Seacoast musical talent there to take home some new inspiration.The show began at 8 p.m., but the gears were turning days or even weeks in advance for some. Larry Simon, of Groove Bacteria and a music teacher at Newmarket High School, treated his students to a unit on Scofield’s music, which included a field trip to The Stone Church to meet the band and observe sound check earlier that afternoon.

Openers Dave Tronzo (slide guitar) and Mike Rivard (bass and Moroccan sintir) warmed up the stage with experimental improvisational sounds that, had I not seen the 1960s Sears and Robuck Silvertone guitar and Fender jazz bass, I would have sworn were made by an army of alien fairies ice skating over frozen piano strings. With tonal modifications made from using a salt shaker or plastic cup as a slide, or alligator clips on bass strings, or corks jammed in between drop-tuned guitar strings and struck with mallets, the duo ripped their way into daring and rarely traveled sonic and compositional areas.
When Jon Scofield and his entourage of Gary Versace (keys), Steve Hass (bass), Meyer Statham (slide trombone and vocals) and John Benitez (drums) hit the stage, any remaining expectations fell to pieces. After a short blast of guitar acrobatics to moisten our palates, the band tore into a night of rearranged, de-arranged, and funkified Ray Charles favorites with the perfect balance of reverence for the original pieces and recklessness in exploring the improvisational possibilities of the tunes.

After “Talkin’ Bout You” and “I Don’t Need No Doctor” got the crowd’s feet moving, “Hit the Road Jack” made singers out of everyone in the room. Scofield, feet planted and body flailing as usual, hand occasionally pushing up his specs, had the look of an excited boy bouncing to the music of Ray Charles. 

“Georgia on My Mind,” my personal favorite, was jaw dropping, thanks largely to the sultry voice of Meyers Statham. The man is so smooth that one lovely young woman emphatically proclaimed, “I’d marry him in a second just to hear him sing to me at night.” If only I could sing like Meyers Statham!
After the group closed the set with “What’d I Say,” the fans quickly rose to their feet and began stomping, clapping and chanting “Sco! Sco! Sco!” until the band reappeared on stage and performed “Night Time Is the Right Time” as an encore, an apt closer for a stunning performance. We had been treated to a wild, genre-bending ride through jazz jams, rhythm and blues, gospel, funk, soul, Latin grooves and rock ’n’ roll. Thank you, Stone Church. Thank you, Jon Scofield. And thank you, Ray Charles.