MEDESKI
MARTIN & WOOD
End of the World
Party (Just In Case)
Blue
Note
Medeski Martin and Wood have long occupied
their own musical space. Taking as their original starting
point the basic jazz organ trio and gradually adding and
emphasizing new elements along the way, they have, over
the last decade, developed a sound that is of interest to
jazz fans, jam band fans, dance music fans, and funksters.
Their latest CD, End of the World Party (Just In Case)
takes many of the best elements from their various incarnations,
combines them into an enticing concoction, and succeeds
where some recent efforts have become mired by keeping the
individual tracts succinct.
Some of the credit for this revitalization
must be attributable to the production of Dust Brother John
King, who has worked on such post-modern masterpieces as
Beck’s Odelay and The Beastie Boys’
Paul’s Boutique. It seems likely that King
is at least partially responsible for MMW’s decision
to cut the fat this time out, keeping each track to less
than five minutes (the only exception being the excellent
title track, which weighs in at 5’11”). There’s
more focus to each track as well. Even when they visit several
genres in the course of a single number (as they often do)
there just seems to be less of the meandering experimentation
that at times became tiresome on The Dropper and
Uninvisible, both of which were produced by hip-hopper
Scotty Hard. Those were interesting albums in their own
right, but they seemed to be trailing off into a miasma
of effects and loops while MMW forgot the groove that brought
them to the dance in the first place.
End of the World Party doesn’t
just bring MMW back to their funky organ trio roots, however.
There’s plenty of new stuff going on here; for example
John Medeski continues to expand his keyboard arsenal that
once was limited to acoustic piano and Hammond B-3. The
more aggressive attitude is there immediately on the opening
track, “Anonymous Skulls,” which manages to
create a nice groove yet still sounds panoramic and ambient.
The song is a deep sonic stew, utilizing a dizzying array
of keyboard sounds, all of which bring to mind various players,
genres, and eras. There’s a lot of layering and overdubbing,
yet the sound is never too crowded or claustrophobic. “End
of the World Party” finds the more familiar Medeski
organ and Fender Rhodes sound, with some righteous bass
support from Chris Wood, but the newer cinematic sounds
and effects are swirled in as well, to great effect.
“Reflector” unleashes guest guitarist
Marc Ribot, who plays on four tracks and adds a real rock
edge to those numbers. But even more amazing is the way
that Medeski slaps around the 70s-inspired Stevie Wonder/Herbie
Hancock-style clavinet, creating a new take on acid fusion/acid
jazz/acid funk/hip-hop. The energy level is incredibly high
by this time, and “Bloody Oil” slows it down
a bit as Medeski provides an ambient, Middle Eastern-influenced
keyboard wash over Wood’s acoustic bass groove. “Mami
Gato” is a Latin excursion that emphasizes the lock-in
groove of Wood’s bass and Billy Martin’s solid,
driving drum and percussion work. Where much of the material
on Uninvisible sounded a bit unfinished, all of
the tracks here sound fully realized. Hearing John Medeski’s
soulful acoustic piano work on this track it’s impossible
not to think of pianists such as Herbie Hancock and Ramsey
Lewis. On tracks like this, one can hear the elements of
MMW’s work that puts them in the same category as
new jazz piano trios like The Bad Plus and E.S.T. Yet they
also have that ability to ride the groove, even while piling
on elements culled from both arty music experiments and
outright pop. On a track like “Shine It” they
are essentially a jazz organ trio again, and not that different
than what one might find on a Jimmy Smith recording. It’s
an admirable blending of traditional and modern elements
in such a way that neither holds too much sway.
The second half of the album is perhaps a
little more groove-oriented than the earlier half, but the
newer, more experimental elements are still there. They
are simply blended in with more skill and less self-consciousness
as MMW and King apparently don’t feel the need to
call attention to them. End of the World Party
is indeed a party album, but it is by no means a lightweight
outing. In fact, it is one of MMW’s most solid recordings,
deserving its place next to classic material such as Friday
Afternoon in the Universe, Shack Man, and
Combustication. If you were somewhat put off by
MMW’s last two studio albums or felt that the group
just wasn’t having as much fun as before, End
of the World Party will assure you that the fun is
still there.
