Of all the guitarists in jazz today, no one exploits more of the language of the electric guitar than John Scofield. Sunday night at Kilbourn Hall he went from classic jazz tone, through distortion, wah-wahs and wails, to electronic loops. And that was just in his first set.

Scofield has been playing with Steve Swallow (bass) and Bill Stewart (drums) for years; the three of them can read each other's minds. Swallow and Stewart had plenty of room for excellent solos, but both were keenly attuned to Scofield's moves.

Early in the set the group played what has become something of a signature tune, Scofield's "Hammock Soliloquy." It's a great piece, full of distortion, and Scofield, lagging just behind the beat, conjures up a lumbering monster. From there he went back and forth between straight-ahead jazz and Hendrix-like fusion. The latter included a wild take on the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."

Scofield is clearly among the greats, but I could do without some of the most inorganic arrows in his technical quiver. Electronic loops are a bit much. I know pedals can be seductive, but, in general I think it's best to play guitar with your hands, not your feet.

While Scofield clearly strives to stay on the cutting edge, Sunday's other guitarist, Howard Alden, is a keeper of the flame. No fuzz, loops, or wah-wahs for him, just fingers that can fly over the fretboard like nobody's business.

Actually, there is one unusual aspect to his playing: he's been using a seven-string guitar since his collaboration with the original seven-stringer, George Van Eps, 16 years ago. (The extra string is a low A on top.)

Aside from being one of the greatest straight-ahead bebop guitarists playing today, Alden is an encyclopedia of the Great American Songbook, Brazilian music, Django Reinhardt and, I'm sure, a great deal more.

He played tunes by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlin, Reinhardt and others; every one was dazzling. "Tango el Bongo," a Van Eps tune, was the most impressive because Alden played solo, shifting from rhythm to bass to lead.

His fingers will play a chord, then make a mad dash over the fretboard, touching on a couple-dozen notes and landing on the perfect inversion of the next chord to begin the process over again. All in a few seconds.

Alden's bassist, Jon Burr, and his drummer, Rob Garcia, were both excellent in solos and accompaniment. The capacity crowd at Montage gave the trio a standing ovation.

Between the two guitarists I caught Jacob Anderskov at the Lutheran Church. The Danish pianist is one of the most cerebral musicians at the festival, so it was not surprising that many in the audience did not stay for more that one or two of his lengthy compositions.

While he seemed to have established structures, there was something of a Keith Jarrett-like improvisatory style to his set.

My favorite moments occurred in his last two compositions. In both of them he hit a groove with a cluster of notes that he would keep swirling while improvising with the other hand. This sometimes led to other-worldly sounds emanating from the swirl that seemed to hover above the impressionistic melodies.

Monday night for me will be a tale of two saxophones: rising star Miguel Zenon and soul-jazz legend Lou Donaldson.