Ana Popovic Band
An Evening At Trasimeno Lake
MVD Visual
www.MVDb2b.com

John Scofield
New Morning: The Paris Concert
MVD Visual
www.MVDb2b.com
By George W. Harris

Here are a couple dvds that carry completely different approaches to the wily 6 stringed axe.

Serbian guitarist Ana Popovic is caught in a concert at a castle in Castiglione Del Lago, Perugia Italy during some festival of thousands of attendees. She’s got a Buddy Guy approach to the blues/rock genre, with her voice sounding at times like Geddy Lee of Rush. Her songs have a gritty feel, as on “Wrong Woman” or the classic “Let Me Love You, Babe” while she displays her chops on “How’d You Learn…” Visually, it’s nice to see her fingerwork, but the bass player suffers from a terminal case of “Jumping Bass Syndrome,” hopping around so often that he either needs to learn some trickier fingering, or just get some ankle weights. A couple of acoustic tunes and a charming interview make up the bonus material; her focus on balancing music and personal life is refreshing.

On the completely other end of the spectrum (or is it plectrum?), John Scofield appears with his quartet (Bill Stewart/dr, Ben Street/b, Michael Eckroth/key) in an intimate Parisian club. The interplay is amber burning coal orange, with some deft work by Scofield on “Woody ‘N You” and “Steeplechase.” Street’s dexterity on the bass is impressive as well, as is Eckroth’s piano work on “I Want To Talk About You.” An excellent mix of ballads, blues, bop and burners here. This guy gets better every year!