Any Medeski, Martin and Wood fans here?

[remphish1]

I am a long time MMW fan. I have been seeing them since 1998 and a fan since 96 or so. What I appreciate about MMW just like Wilco is every album is a great pogression. MMW changes styles and are very versitile. There is very few things that MMW releases that I don't like. Their live shows are also very unpredictable which I appreciate. Each musician in MMW can hold their own on a solo or play subtile if they have too. Just wanted to see if anyone on here is a fan...if you are new to them I would recommend..

 

1) Notes from the Underground-Great acoustic, jazz Standard type songs

2) Shack-man-Experimental Jazz

3) Combustication-R&B, Rap infused Jazz

[choo-choo-charlie]

I dig 'em. One of my favorite recordings they did was with John Scofield, "A Go Go." That entire album is solid, front-to-back. Great driving music, great summertime porch jams. I didn't like their next two collaborations as much, although 2006's "Out Louder" has a few good tunes, including The Beatles' "Julia." these guys were meant to play together.

 

Also really enjoyed Medeski/Martin's "Mago" record...there's some really strange music in there and some really funky music in there. Medeski's one-off with the North Mississippi Allstars and Robert Randolph, The Word, was phenomenal. Great instrumental takes on blues, gospel and traditionals, definitely worth checking out. Killer playing.

 

 

[remphish1]

Yeah a Go-Go is great saw MMW play with Scofield and it is a nice combo! I haven't heard the N.Miss Randolph/Medeski album and will pick that up!

[calvino]

I use to listen to MMW quite a bit in the late 90s/early 00's - but I haven't heard any of their recent stuff. I saw a great double bill of MMW and Tortoise once at a Chicago festival (in 2002 or 03). It was the first time I saw Tortoise play before and I thought they played a much better set. Oddly enough, the show sparked my interest even more in Tortoise and MMW fell by the wayside.

 

The last cd I bought was Uninvisible - haven't listened to that in ages.

 

A friend of mine (a professional dancer, when she can find the work) developed a whole show/routine with Scofield's Go-Go record and performed it live for a few recitals. It seemed to go over well with the audience.

[remphish1]

I use to listen to MMW quite a bit in the late 90s/early 00's - but I haven't heard any of their recent stuff. I saw a great double bill of MMW and Tortoise once at a Chicago festival (in 2002 or 03). It was the first time I saw Tortoise play before and I thought they played a much better set. Oddly enough, the show sparked my interest even more in Tortoise and MMW fell by the wayside.

 

The last cd I bought was Uninvisible - haven't listened to that in ages.

 

A friend of mine (a professional dancer, when she can find the work) developed a whole show/routine with Scofield's Go-Go record and performed it live for a few recitals. It seemed to go over well with the audience.

 

Hmm yeah MMW live is a mixed bag. When you see them they might go off on a 20 minute Jazz noodle fest but when they stick closer to the song structures it is always solid. Not too familar with Tortosie...what would be a good starting point with them?

[jff]

I used to see them once in a while when they were pretty new. I was impressed, but I haven't seen them since the early '90s. I've only owned Combustication and The Dropper. I like both of those. This is one of those bands I enjoy, but can't fully commit to, for some reason.

[calvino]

Hmm yeah MMW live is a mixed bag. When you see them they might go off on a 20 minute Jazz noodle fest but when they stick closer to the song structures it is always solid. Not too familar with Tortoise...what would be a good starting point with them?

 

TNT and Standard are two of my favorites of Tortoise.

 

Tortoise opened up the UIC shows for Wilco, also Jeff Parker played with Nels in a couple of combinations. WIlco and Tortoise - two great Chicago institutions.

 

There's actually a small Tortoise thread going.

 

http://viachicago.org/topic/26830-tortiose/page__p__822489__hl__tortoise__fromsearch__1#entry822489

[El Picador]

Still one of my favorite bands. I love the Radiolarians albums, Friday Afternoon in the Universe and Shack Man. My first exposure was back in 1995 when, after a Phish concert in Austin, some friends of mine drove over to Emo's to see if we could get in. Well, we stood in line for an hour or so and right when we got to the front of the line they declared the show as sold out. Anyway, we sat outside and listened as Trey Anastasio sat in with them for a ripping set. I still have the SBD of that show that sounds incredible. A year or so later I brought the DAT up to the college radio station where my friend hosted a jazz show. We played a couple of the numbers from that performance and the phone at the station started ringing off the hook to find out who/what that was they were hearing.

[jff]

One thing MMW did right, career-wise, which a lot of "jazz" bands either refuse to do, or don't realize they can do, is play with rock bands. They were on a Lollapalooza tour, and they played with and built strong relationships with a lot of jam bands. If there's ever been a loyal audience who will aggressively spread the word (and tapes) about bands, and will give opening bands a fair shot, it 's the jam band audience. That was incredibly smart of MMW. If they hadn't gone that route, they probably would have only risen to the level of, say, the Bad Plus.