MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD

The stage recording follows the same general direction of their (mostly) unplugged "Radiolarian" cycle, and the lack of electronics preserves the wonderfully clear and uncluttered sound of those albums. The band was performing to bigger crowds in larger venues, somewhat atypically for an acoustic jazz combo. But of course MMW were never traditional jazzers.

Other influences continue to loom large: rock 'n' roll; roadhouse funk; grunge; blues; swing; avant-garde improvisation; trip-hop grooves; gospel; psychedelia; so forth and so on. These are musicians not above using a child's toy piano (in "Doppler") to achieve the right effect, or borrowing esoteric World Music influences when necessary: note the heady ethnic aroma of Turkish kebab drifting into the title track. That it all fits together so easily is a huge part of the eponymous magic here.

The selections are mostly in the 15-minute range, but half that length in each number is usually reserved for some very un-jazz-like atonal soundscapes: think of "Starless"-era KING CRIMSON, unplugged. The innovations of other MMW albums are lacking, but it's a solid set, showing a unique trio at ease within their comfort zone. The magic may be free, but the music is priceless, even when it isn't pushing back any new borders.

Just don't call it Jazz, or even Jazz Rock. MMW specialize in an altogether different blend of acoustic and electric fusion, skipping lightly over counter-intuitive styles with the same joy and dexterity of Gene Kelly dodging raindrops. From outer atmosphere improvisations to inner city shuffles to hybrid psychedelic gospel reggae-rock vamps (the latter in "Gwyra Mi": hear it to believe it), this is an album much easier to enjoy than it is to pin down.

The entire "Radiolarian" series was road-tested before any actual studio recording, and internalized down to the level of their collective DNA. The result is a body of music not so much composed as captured in mid-air. Every track was developed with the freedom of performance found only in Jazz, while employing all the stylistic liberties of Progressive Rock.

This last and best set begins with one of the band's trademark unplugged jams, nervous and jerky but swinging in a way sure to please your inner beatnik. The production has a thrilling immediacy that puts the listener in the same room while the trio works its magic: sometimes it's difficult to say if the musicians are playing their instruments, or the other way around.

Keyboardist John Medeski is all over every cut, but his astonishing unplugged piano solo in "Jean's Scene" remains a highlight not just of the album but of his ongoing career. He then immediately turns around and works similar alchemy on his Hammond B3 organ, in "Broken Mirror" (that exotic zither-like sound is him plucking the piano strings using a flathead screwdriver).

And listen to his frantic yet tasteful intro to the traditional hymn "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down", another in the occasional series of New Orleans voodoo spirituals re-visited by the band. Chris Wood's distorted bass guitar offers the perfect counterpoint to Medeski's raucous piano, sounding like Old Scratch himself come to collect your wayward soul. And the final piece to a very eclectic puzzle is Billy Martin's seemingly unstructured but always pinpoint drumming: check out his restless toe-tapping vitality in "Walk Back".

Put all three albums together (see the "Radiolarians Evolutionary" box set) and you have a career-defining collection of modern music. But separately each is still an essential package, Volume III perhaps most of all. I'd been wondering how to best justify my five-star rating here, but then realized I wouldn't have to: the music did it all by itself.

"Anonymous Skulls" has plenty of piano and organ and the mellotron late sounds great. "End Of The World Party" is a catchy number with lots of mellotron and what sounds like vocal melodies. Keyboards, drums and bass are also outfront. "Reflector" sounds better with the guitar and darker sound. Lots of piano then the clavinet comes in kicking some ass. "Bloody Oil" opens with bass and cymbals and actually sounds like Jazz for the first time on this album. Organ joins in too. One of my favs right here. "New Planet" opens with drums and some silly sounds. Clavinet comes to the fore. This sounds better 2 minutes in when the guitar arrives. "Mami Gato" opens with a beat as bass and piano help out. This continues throughout.

"Shine It" is another catchy tune with drums and piano leading. "Curtis" sounds like more of the same except we get some outfront clavinet. "Ice" is again more of the piano, bass and drums leading the way until late when it becomes orchestral sounding. "Sasa" sounds great once it gets going. Lots of clavinet and funk. "Midnight Poppies/Crooked Birds" starts out with bass and atmosphere as the organ floats. It becomes spacey 2 minutes in then the second half of this track kicks in. "Queen Bee" sounds good with the keyboards, drums and intricate sounds. Catchy stuff. Cool track.

While I do feel that this one should be rated higher on here than it is, I have to agree with my two collaborators on the 3 stars.

In truth the quartet should be considered an entirely different band, far enough removed from the forward-thinking aims of MMW to deserve a separate page here at Prog Archives. The larger group is a perfect match of likeminded musical minds, but the four-way collaboration lacks the adventurous spirit of MMW proper, settling instead for the no less groovy but hardly progressive sound of a totally professional and very talented jazz-rock jam band.

Regarding this two-disc live package: the not-so-good news is that the material is drawn almost entirely from the "A Go Go" and "Out Louder" albums, and thus highlight that same, slightly compromised mainstream reduction of the more challenging MMW aesthetic. The compact disc gives no indication of where and when the gig was recorded, but it sounds like a performance supporting the '06 release of "Out Louder", belatedly assembled half a decade later.

The good news is that on stage, in front of what sounds like a raucous crowd of obvious fans, the music comes to life in a way it never did in the studio. The jamming format of the touring quartet allows for lots of soloing, and quite a few tracks are here extended way beyond their original length.

Each musician has his turn in the spotlight, including the rhythm section: check out the startling unaccompanied acoustic bass intro to "Cachaça", or drummer Billy Martin's spasmodic be-bop solo at the start of "Miles Behind". But over the length of two discs you'll also find many long episodes of indiscriminate, self-indulgent noodling (during "Hanuman", "Hottentot", and the almost thirteen-minute title track), when the music refuses to gel.

MSMW may not compare well to MMW, but why compare them at all? The quartet is more like a side project, where the moonlighting artists can forget their more eclectic, experimental instincts and simply have fun playing together. Listeners can enjoy this set in much the same way, without the burden of higher expectations.

Musicians play all-acoustic and sound quality is excellent. In combination with very enthusiastic public and excellent track list, this release could be placed between best 2010 contemporary jazz/fusion recordings.Based mostly on funky piano sound, music has enough space for all three musicians though. It's so fantastic to hear that modern jazz fusion music could be such groovy, emotional and accessible at the same time without being cheesy or mellow! Don't be afraid of all-acoustic sound there - nothing sounds dated or old-fashioned on this album!

Tunes are great, musicianship is excellent, and even if this album doesn't bring you more experimental elements or unusual sounds ( even opposite - this music sounds a bit conservative as for such innovative band), this release is excellent demonstration of all best sides MM&W are so known about.

Excellent album for any lover of funky jazz fusion, and great entry for everyone searching on his way to modern jazz fusion! Very recommended.

My rating is 4,5,rounded to 5!

Medeski Martain & Wood are usually all about the groove. This album is the epitome of that style. Every song locks in to a groove and doesn't back down. Bass churns, drums keep time, keys solo away/provide atmosphere, all in the attempt to support a single rhythmic function. I have to agree with the reviewer above me...this album's biggest problem is the lack of diversity. The best songs on the album add a little something extra to the mix, but at the end of the day, are in the same spirit of the rest of the songs on the album. And that spirit is groovy. Other MM&W albums embrace other musical approaches, which is one of my favorite things about this band. They aren't afraid to do something different and are (seemingly) willing to try anything once. That philosophy doesn't hold as much water here, which is unfortunate.

However, this album does have some stand out tracks that make this album worth it. It begins incredibly strong with Anonymous Skulls, one of my favorite MM&W tracks. The groove is well established, but the creepy atmosphere teamed up with some more uncomfortable sounds produced makes this song stand out in the crowd. End Of The World Party is an interesting track, with some terrible vinyl scratching's added. But beyond that, the song is solid. Bloody Oil is also a top tier track that is just as enjoyable as any song from any other album. Sadly, after Bloody Oil, the album takes a turn for the monotonous, until the end. New Planet through Sasa set up the groove and keep it going. Honestly, there is little if anything to set each track apart from the next. A groove is established, the drums hold things down, something solos, a melody is repeated, the song ends. (Or something close to that anyway.) While none of the songs or playing is bad, nothing is particularly excellent. Luckily, it does pick up again at the end with Midnight Poppies/Crooked Birds, a track with excellent atmosphere that doesn't rely on a groove (at least the Midnight Poppies bit) and Queen Bee, with some nice guitar work (although, I think it could be used more effectively). Additionally, the guest work here is a nice diversifier, and the additional instruments do spruce up the songs they are in.

All in all, this is a good album, but only that. Also, there is really limited rock on this album at all. Its all groovy modern jazz. I wouldn't start my MM&W adventure here, but if you are already a fan, and especially if you prefer there groovy, jazzy side, this is probably worth it. Is this the last album I ever want to hear? No. But come the day, I'll try to slip it into the rotation. 3 stars.

By the turn of the last century the Brooklyn combo had positioned itself as the aesthetic heir to the legacy of post-"Bitches Brew" MILES DAVIS, expanding the psychedelic avant-funk experiments pioneered by the erstwhile jazz trumpeter during the seminal "On The Corner" sessions, but updated to a new millennium and stripped down from the large-scale ensemble noise of Davis' bands from the 1970s.

This year 2002 recording offers a perfect example of the MMW sound: a deft instrumental blend of distorted Hammond organ and relentless (albeit swinging) rhythms, all of it bathed in a halo of reverb and echo effects. And this time around the dirty urban funk is augmented by even more turntable scratching and crunchy guitar accompaniment, and by the addition to the mix of the occasional horn arrangement (in strictly homeopathic doses, and often heavily treated: listen to the track "Nocturnal Transmission" for details).

In truth this effort breaks no new ground from its immediate studio predecessors, the aptly- titled 1998 album "Combustication" and the year 2000 freakout of "The Dropper". The haphazard narration of "Your Name Is Snake Anthony" duplicates (but improves on) the likeminded reminiscence of Combustication's "Whatever Happened to Gus", and guest star DJ Olive fills the same role here as DJ Logic on the earlier album. Elsewhere, the game of ping-pong heard behind the suitably groovy beat of the album closer "Off the Table" recalls an identical bit of audio-verite from the Krautrockers of CAN (see their self- titled 1979 album, aka "Inner Space").

So there's a lingering sense throughout the album that the trio is merely treading water. But not without their usual energy or style: check out John Medeski's amusing pitch-bent, drunken keyboard solo at the end of "Take Me Nowhere", or the smoky space-lounge atmospherics of "Where Have You Been?" (with its clusters of eerie Mellotron chords)

Bands of this caliber typically carry a heavy load of high expectations with every new album. But such a creative outfit like MMW should be allowed the luxury of stopping every so often to survey the new territory they've recently opened. Consider this one more a consolidation than a breakthrough, and no less enjoyable despite its relative lack of innovation.

Right from the beginning you can tell these guys are a talented bunch, all displaying an excellent proficiency on their instruments and a good feel for what to play and when to play it. They have some free jazz sensibilities it seems, and their love for a nice funky feeling is apparent even here on their debut album. Though the album's long (72 minutes, plus my version has a bonus track, "Can't Get What You Want") the album never seems to drag. Plus, every member gets a chance to show off his chops with various solos.

It's definitely a worthy inclusion to any prog collection, any jazz collection...really, any music collection. If you enjoy high quality acoustic jazz trios, then this album is definitely for you. I would point out "best tracks" but I feel like it's all of a uniformly high quality. Four stars from me.

Being in their best form, trio plays more straight jazz and world fusion. The concept is based on Zorn's Masada ( Second Book of Angels), and music there is darker, deeper and more serious than in many MMW other works.

If they can't compare in techniques with some excellent jazz instrumentalists, collaborated with Zorn on his Masadas, they have their own reading of klezmer (and sometimes even blues) based fusion. Vintage analog keyboards, distorted bass and very their own atmosphere.

Few compositions there are just excellent and could be named as MMW best music ever recorded. Some songs are not so concentrated and are just pleasant and moody klezmer based nu jazz tunes. But in both cases every listener will enjoy this music.

Good relaxed place to start your travel to Zorn's Masada world as well as one of the best MMW recorded albums.

Even if similar to the first trilogy's album, this work is more acoustic, more jazzy, more funky. Let say, in their non-traditional nu jazz mix musicians put more jazz, fusion and funk traditional sound. So I believe this album possibly is the best entrance to Trilogy for newcomer.

With their easy accessible music, always pleasant tunes, never boring diversity of musical components in their musical mixture, band with all "Radiolarians" trilogy confirmed their position as one of US nu jazz leaders.

I can recommend this album for any jazz fusion lover interested in newest genre's trends. Pleasant and accessible work, but not so simple as it looks sometimes from the surface.