Even when writing for the rarefied atmosphere of the concert hall, Mark-Anthony Turnage’s music is strongly coloured by his love affair with jazz. Blood on the Floor (Argo, 5/98) was his first piece to feature improvised sections, and the project enabled him to work with distinguished jazz guitarist John Scofield. This new disc, an edited version of a live event, presents a further collaboration between the two. The punning title alludes to the nature of the work: SCofield ORCHestratED is a dozen of Scofield’s own compositions arranged, ‘set’ or recontextualised by Turnage for the combined forces of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Hessian Radio Big Band and a dynamic concertante trio of other Turnage collaborators.

The soundworld will be familiar from Turnage’s previous works. There are moments of 1970s cop-show sleaze (perhaps the stylistic homage is intended) but the synthesis of classical and jazz elements is more convincing than in most so-called ‘fusion’, with a real sense of two musicians striking sparks off one another. Turnage gives surprising new perspectives to Scofield’s epigrammatic, angular tunes, which in turn lend the music a focus sometimes missing from the composer’s recent pieces. Gil Evans-ish harmonies acquire Birtwistlian edge even if there’s nothing formidably challenging for the traditional new music audience. The more directly expressive material ranges from the lyrical romanticism of ‘Away With Words’ to the sepulchral chill of ‘Deadzy’ where Turnage begins with some haunting, spaced-out sonorities redolent of Valentin Silvestrov.

There’s a nice balance between Turnage’s carefully crafted structures and the improvised trio elements; the opening number ‘Make Me’ is heard first in Turnage’s pointillist arrangement, then more or less ‘straight’ as a jazz-funk jam of thrilling rhythmic fluidity. The trick doesn’t always work: Turnage’s pizzicato-heavy arrangement of ‘Fat Lip’ sounds effete and aimless next to the sinuous trio version that follows. This is partly due to a lack of swing in the playing, partly a matter of the different miking styles. Scofield’s guitar appears periodically throughout the suite with well-judged contributions, and orchestra and trio are beautifully integrated in up-tempo numbers like ‘Trim’ and ‘Protocol’.

True, there are the usual problems attendant on live recording. Sometimes the ensemble isn’t as tight as it might be, and there are several audible page turns. Intrusive audience applause may annoy some, though it adds to the atmosphere. For the most part, the sound is immediate and vivid. Handsomely packaged and with informative if over-eager booklet notes, this is a successful example of an oft-derided genre.