by Kevin OBrien on 02/19/2012
Medeski Martin & Wood are not your typical jazz trio. They released an album back in 2004 that I can't stop playing. It sounds great! If you are expecting a standard jazz album, you are in for a surprise. I would classify their sound as "acid jazz" or something along those lines. Definitely not your average jazz album from the 50's. Either way, the sounds coming from this LP are wonderful.
MMW consists of John Medeski, Billy Martin, and Chris Wood. These guys have been recording quality albums dating back to the early 90's and haven't stopped since. Most of their albums are pretty decent but a few are pretty "out there" as well so you've been warned. End Of The World Party is one of their works that strikes a perfect balance of funky sounds and classic jazz mixed together to make a hit album.
Thankfully you won't hear any of these tracks on your favorite top 40 radio show so not to worry. We'll leave that for Lady Gaga or someone else the kids are listening to these days. I often wondered if what I was hearing was universal among music fans so I figured I'd bring the disc along to some audio shows to see what other folks thought.
I ended up bringing the album to the 2010 and 2011 RMAF shows for auditioning purposes. I got plenty of, "Who is this? This sounds great!" remarks so I think I'm on to something here. Give it a spin, or a rip to your hard drive, and see what you think. If you can find it on vinyl, do not hesitate and buy it as it's well out of print at this point. I doubt you'll be disappointed especially if you keep an open mind.
ENJOY!!!
- KOB
Associated Equipment for this Review:
- YFS/ SCH Custom Speakers
- YFS Custom Room Treatment
- YFS HD Ref-1 Computer Music Server
- Musical Fidelity V-DAC
- YFS Custom CA-60a Preamp and Custom 6L6 Tube Power Amp
- YFS Custom Interconnects and Cables