Medeski, Martin,and Wood

[Milestones]

Just wondering what people think of this group. They've been around quite awhile now, and have a decent amount of fame for a jazz group (or jam band). Truth to tell, I have not listened to much besides the two collaborations with John Scofield. There are some good tracks, and to my mind one genuine classic: "Hottentot." But on the whole it's not stuff that truly impresses me. The group seems to keep slipping into a very similar groove on one track after another.

[JSngry]

I used to enjoy that Tonic album of theirs quite a bit.

[PHILLYQ]

There was one titled 'End of the World Party Just in Case' that I liked a lot. I saw them live once and they were a blast, massively funky.

[StarThrower]

I like one of their early albums called It's a Jungle In Here. That one has some tunes on it. But everything else I listened to after that is lacking in the writing department. They have a lot of grooves and jams, but no melodies.

[JSngry]

There was one titled 'End of the World Party Just in Case' that I liked a lot.

Yeah, that one too. Seems like their whole run on BN was pretty worthwhile, iirc. Maybe not always "great" but few things really are, ya' know?

[Aggie87]

Some discussion in the MMW Corner:

...and some in this thread started by the illustrious Jazz Kat:

[Quincy]

..and some in this thread started by the illustrious Jazz Kat:

Holy cow, is the illustrious one now able to vote, drink in bars...has it had kittens by now? Back when I used to go to a Dead-centric trading scene in bars MMW was about as close to jazz as most Deadheads would go.

[Milestones]

I have to say I like the track "What Now" with Scofield. One reviewer said it sounded like Keith Emerson meeting Jimi Hendrix, and sure enough that sounds pretty accurate.