CD of the Week March 11-March 17, 2001

Medeski, Martin and Wood

The Dropper

Blue Note Records

Imagine a window with four panes of glass in it. Let’s say one pane is Duke Ellington, one pane is John Zorn, one pane is Jimmy Smith and the last pane is Sonic Youth. Now drop this muti-faceted window on a cement floor and then jump on it while wearing your mama’s combat boots. All the little shards of glass from the four panes get all mixed up and intermingled with each other. This is basically a description of what Medeski, Martin and Wood’s latest CD, The Dropper sounds like.

Medeski, Martin and Wood are a three-piece band that usually falls under the term Jazz although the majority of their fanbase seem to be rock fans. They are known for their super-funky, organ driven jams. They often mix elements of hip hop and avant-garde into their music also. The three men of MMW came up in New York’s downtown jazz scene playing with various outfits like the Lounge Lizards, the Either/Orchestra and various John Zorn ensembles. At some point the band crossed over to a more mainstream audience partly because of their musician admirers who include the members of Phish.

You are not too likely to find a John Zorn disc in a college fraternity house, but these days you are probably pretty likely to find a copy of a MMW album like Shack man or Combustication. This crossover is a pretty cool thing in most ways. It turns on a whole new audience to improvised funk and jazz. Their success probably helped pave the way for other acts like Galactic and Soulive. The downside of course, is that it is a lot harder to see MMW in an intimate venue.

In recent years it seems the band might be trying to move away from its mainstream success. Last year they released Tonic which was an all-acoustic record and a far cry from the funk/hip-hop sound of their previous two albums. This latest offering once again is a left turn for the band. The Dropper consists of thirteen tracks that at times could be better described as soundscapes than as songs. Bizarre scraping and creaking noises reside along side Medeski’s trademark organ and piano stylings. The band has reached a level of telepathic group playing that few outfits ever achieve. Wood (bass) and Martin (drums) are one of the most synched up rhythm sections out there. Even through all of the strange noises and discordant bursts of music, there always seems to be a backbeat to hold it all together. The sound is sometimes industrial sounding, but also always organic at the same time. The bands music is more akin to trip-hop and ambient styles on this record than their typical jazz and funk. It is obvious that MMW treated the studio as another member of the band this time around. While this album has a live sound, it is not what they sound like live, if that makes any sense. Guests like Marc Ribot on guitar, Marshall Allen on sax as well as several violinists also add to the overall sound.

I find this CD to really enjoyable. It is sometimes dark and brooding, but always interesting. This latest effort by MMW might scare off some of the fratboys, but others will see the beauty of this music and will be happy that they did.