Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Medeski, Martin & Wood: End of the World Party (Just in Case)

195

Medeski, Martin & Wood: End of the World Party (Just in Case)

By

Sign in to view read count
Medeski, Martin & Wood: End of the World Party (Just in Case)
Teaming the poster children for contemporary bass/drum/organ groove (Chris Wood, Billy Martin, and John Medeski, respectively) with John King, the producer of such twisted GenX pop classics as Odelay (Beck) and Paul's Boutique (Beastie Boys), updates the classic Booker T. & The MGs organ combo sound for our swirling electronic age.

King's deft production here is sleek, not slick, and it works Mark Ribot's sharp guitar into several tracks. Just like modern life, this isn't entirely a groove. "Ice" is a tone poem cold and dark and hard, for example, and you may not have to look much further than the title of "Bloody Oil," set to Wood's recurring bass figure and Medeski's haunted house organ swells, to learn how MM&W feel about the war in Iraq.

But when it is time to party, the troops still kick it balls-out funky. Martin whacks "Shine It" and "Curtis" with a rhythm-stick taped together from New Orleans second-line and '60s boogaloo drum styles, while Medeski's cool, spare acoustic piano in "Mami Gato" wastes neither motion nor note and honors such spinners of classic soul piano grooves as Les McCann and Ramsey Lewis, even against the floating time the rest of the ensemble seems to play. Medeski leads the group through liquid organ grooves in the title track and "Queen Bee," stung as if by a swarming hornet by Ribot's sharp, Steve Cropper-ish guitar licks (this sounds so much like Booker T. & The MGs that it's got to be intentional).

Ribot's concise chops slice nicely into the thick organ stew of "Reflector" while the band tosses off sharp chords that propel the rhythm and beat forward, and the tumultuous "Sasa," also pierced by Steven Bernstein's slide trumpet, like a siren screaming through an icy starless winter night.

Track Listing

Anonymous Skulls; End Of The World Party; Reflector; Bloody Oil; New Planet; Mami Gato; Shine It; Curtis; Ice; Sasa; Midnight Puppies/ Crooked Birds; Queen Bee

Personnel

Medeski Martin & Wood
band / ensemble / orchestra

John Medeski: Keyboards; Billy Martin: Drums & Percussion; Chris Wood: Basses. Guest Musicians: Marc Ribot: Guitar (3, 5, 10 & 12); Steven Bernstein: Slide Trumpet (10); Briggan Krauss: Saxophone (10); John King: a little of this, a liitle of that.

Album information

Title: End of the World Party (Just in Case) | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.