Jazz Articles about Medeski Martin & Wood

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Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood: Out Louder

by Chris May
May 3, 2007

I got to the Medeski, Martin & Wood party late and left early. Combustication (Blue Note, 1998), a funk gumbo masterpiece with a generous side order of knowing jazz references, was and remains a satisfying meal. But neither The Dropper (Blue Note, 2000) nor Uninvisible (Blue Note, 2002) did it for me: the episodic, cut and paste tunes and generally short track playing times were irritating. The band clearly had attitude, vision and a good weed dealer, but they needed ...

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Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood: Out Louder

by Doug Collette
September 27, 2006

During the early 1990s, Medeski, Martin & Wood conjured up a heady, groove-oriented style that coincided with the increasingly rhythm-oriented approach John Scofield was developing. A year before the trio made the leap to Blue Note, those parallel paths intersected in 1998: MMW accompanied the guitarist in the studio on A Go Go (Verve), and they went on to perform some very selected live dates together. More than halfway into the not-so-new millennium, Scofield and MMW are collaborating again, and ...

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Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood: Out Louder

by John Kelman
September 25, 2006

It's been nearly a decade since John Scofield hooked up with jam band favorites Medeski, Martin and Wood for A Go Go (Verve, 1998), an album that singlehandedly placed the guitarist on the radar of a younger and enthusiastic demographic. Given that Scofield wrote all the material, A Go Go was unequivocally his project. On the other hand, Out Louder is clearly a more democratic affair. Half of the album consists of flat-out jams, while the balance is a mix ...

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Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood: Out Louder

by Troy Collins
September 23, 2006

A far cry from this quartet's previous encounter, Out Louder is a summit meeting for all four players. Where 1998's A Go Go (Verve) found the trio performing as guitarist John Scofield's backing band, here the working relationship is far more collaborative. The added grit and gristle, along with the more extreme outside elements, demonstrate Medeski and company's influence in writing this time around. On this set, recorded for the trio's Indirecto Records imprint (whose first release was ...

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John Medeski And Marian McPartland: Piano Jazz

by Mark Sabbatini
March 30, 2006

The matchup is so unusual that it's alluring before a word is spoken or a note played: Marian McPartland, 85, the straight-laced matronly host of public radio's Piano Jazz spending an hour with John Medeski, 40, perhaps the most recognizable pioneer of modern acid jazz as one third of Medeski, Martin and Wood. She plays an acoustic piano; he has forty to fifty keyboards and considers them all essential. Of the fifteen Piano Jazz albums released to date, featuring guests ...

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

by Chris M. Slawecki
November 15, 2004

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. ...

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

by Nenad Georgievski
November 12, 2004

With their latest release, the popular Medeski, Martin & Wood are making a step further in terms of their sound--which does not come as a surprise, as they have constantly been trying to find new ways to expand their sonic palette. Originally, they started as a basic jazz organ trio and along the way they just kept adding and emphasizing new elements which have enabled them to be appreciated by different audiences. It seems that in this case they have ...