From IndieJazz.com:
Medeski Martin & Wood "Shack-man"
Gramavision - GCD79514
John Medeski - Hammond B-3 organ, clavinet, Wurlitzer, electric piano, pianet T, toy piano, Yamaha CSO1 II Chris Martin - drums, percussion Chris Wood - acoustic bass, electric basses, guitar
SHACK-MAN, was mostly composed and developed on the road during the last year in which they played over 200 shows. The band's third Gramavision release and fourth album overall was recorded in their tropical sanctuary, a shack in the remote jungles of Hawaii. “There's a certain vibe we get into musically in Hawaii that we don't get into on the road," says Medeski. "It was always our dream to make a record there. The sound of the Shack is amazing.” With ten new compositions and a remarkable revamping of the traditional “Is There Anybody Here That Love My Jesus,” MMW emerge as America's favorite groove band. Although critics have compared their unique musical hybrid to the soulful organ jazz of Jimmy Smith, the cosmic voyages of Sun Ra and Miles Davis in the 70's, these versatile keyboard, bass, and drum virtuosos hew just as closely to the dance floor pop and street savvy funk of Booker T & the MG's, Sly and the Family Stone, and James Brown. The instant accessibility and musical depth of such Shack-man tunes as “Dracula,” “Bubblehouse,” and “Strance of the Spirit Red Gator” invite music fans of every stripe into the Shack, spacious home to the universal groove. - from Gramavision/Ryko website
The fourth album by keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood is an ass-shaking testament to the many moods of the Holy Groove. Boasting a rhythmic precision somewhere between the flawless propulsion of the Meters and the free-flowing pulse of Weather Report, MMW distill extended live jams into four to seven minute instrumental pearls while energetically dissolving the boundaries that separate rock, jazz and the urban sound du jour. Long may they shack. - Rolling Stone, 11/18/96
Medeski Martin and Wood make thinking-person's groove music, with enough swing to satisfy fans of soul-jazz and enough sass to appeal to those who own everything James Brown ever recorded. - Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/10/96
Smart, tuneful and engaging, Shack-man shows that challenging music can be just as much fun as the easy stuff. - The Baltimore Sun, 10/11/96
An infectious yet edgy, mutable yet groove-centered stew that is the instrumental phenomenon of the 90s... Shack-man captures the raw hypnotic power of Medeski Martin and Wood like no previous album. - Boston Globe, 9/29/96
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My Trusted MOGs
MOG is working great today. Very quick - good work!
My Trusted MOGs
Damn, MMW are a tight outfit. I usually mistrust cut-for-purpose review excerpts but I must say some comments ring true despite their snappy catch-all labels.
It's funny that some should mention the experimentalism of 70s jazz because to me they sound more like some Charlie Parker's theme revived than fusion, at least on the track you've presented us with.
Is that the Hammond that sounds almost like a psyched out vibraphone at times? Be as it may, incredible track. Thank you ever so much for the introduction.
My Trusted MOGs
i love MMW and have always wanted to se them live. unfortunately, they seem perpetually out of my reach. it seems they only come to town when i'm broke (and tix are always $30 and up) and when i do have money, they're not around... it's one of my few unfulfilled musical accomplishments. but i haven't heard any music by the new lineup that's playing shows now.
My Trusted MOGs
I have always dug these cats reckon..big ups for the post. One of the funnerest jazz shows I've ever seen.