noddin0ff
02-05-2007, 08:29 AM
I was walking through a brick-n-mortar store for the first time in a while and saw a bunch of stuff that caught my eye. This was one of them.
Medeski, Scofield, Martin, & Wood: Out Louder
So, I’ll pretty much buy anything that MMW put out. They’re a jazz, jam, experimental trio (keyboard, bass, drum) with a heavy dose of funk and groove that can get you tapping…or lose you in a sonic mayhem. Either way, it’s good to me. John Scofield is a jazz guitarist whose been around a while both solo and with many greats (Miles Davis, e.g.), but I don’t think I have anything he’s been on except for a recent album, Uberjam which is a sonic trip in itself.
Now they’re together. Apparently, on an album I have to get now, John Scofield’s A Go Go (1998), MMW backed Scofield and it was well regarded.
Out Louder is pretty good too. I would characterize it mostly as MMW with another instrument added. That’s not entirely fair, because Scofield certainly brings a different character to some tracks more than others. I think this four-way thing works well and the album surveys the stylistic repetoir. There’s a slow simple rendition of the Beatle’s Julia, There’s a very funky fun intro piece that you can’t help tap to, Little Walter Rides Again, some bossa-inspired rythyms, some fast jams, and a 12 min jam/improv Down the Tube that is great. I was trying to pick a representative sample piece to upload, it’s not easy. Little Walter, and Down the tube are probably the stand out bits. Scofield (to my naïve Scofield ears) melds well but doesn’t really push as hard and abandon himself to the noise and groove like MMW can. But on the other hand he adds a welcome melodic element.
So basically, I think the album is easy to enjoy, pretty good and certainly holds promise for the quartet. It’s a bit of a survey of styles. There’s potential for this new group to really do something great. This album works well, has some great tracks, but still seems to me like a good beginning rather than a great album. They’re touring now; I hope a second album follows.
And since I seem to have come to good beginnings, here’s the first track…
Little Walter Rides Again (http://www.mediafire.com/?2xhloxjmrmn)
Medeski, Scofield, Martin, & Wood: Out Louder
So, I’ll pretty much buy anything that MMW put out. They’re a jazz, jam, experimental trio (keyboard, bass, drum) with a heavy dose of funk and groove that can get you tapping…or lose you in a sonic mayhem. Either way, it’s good to me. John Scofield is a jazz guitarist whose been around a while both solo and with many greats (Miles Davis, e.g.), but I don’t think I have anything he’s been on except for a recent album, Uberjam which is a sonic trip in itself.
Now they’re together. Apparently, on an album I have to get now, John Scofield’s A Go Go (1998), MMW backed Scofield and it was well regarded.
Out Louder is pretty good too. I would characterize it mostly as MMW with another instrument added. That’s not entirely fair, because Scofield certainly brings a different character to some tracks more than others. I think this four-way thing works well and the album surveys the stylistic repetoir. There’s a slow simple rendition of the Beatle’s Julia, There’s a very funky fun intro piece that you can’t help tap to, Little Walter Rides Again, some bossa-inspired rythyms, some fast jams, and a 12 min jam/improv Down the Tube that is great. I was trying to pick a representative sample piece to upload, it’s not easy. Little Walter, and Down the tube are probably the stand out bits. Scofield (to my naïve Scofield ears) melds well but doesn’t really push as hard and abandon himself to the noise and groove like MMW can. But on the other hand he adds a welcome melodic element.
So basically, I think the album is easy to enjoy, pretty good and certainly holds promise for the quartet. It’s a bit of a survey of styles. There’s potential for this new group to really do something great. This album works well, has some great tracks, but still seems to me like a good beginning rather than a great album. They’re touring now; I hope a second album follows.
And since I seem to have come to good beginnings, here’s the first track…
Little Walter Rides Again (http://www.mediafire.com/?2xhloxjmrmn)