Category:
Jazz

Try if you like:
Jimmy Smith, John Scofield

•   Free Go Lily

Medeski Martin & Wood are a trio that keeps jazz alive for me. I'm not a huge fan of the genre but there are a handful that I keep my eyes on, MMW being the main act. They prove again with Radiolarians I why I keep coming back for more. This 10 song set is a document proving the trio's wonderful diversity and passion for the jazz genre. They love to experiment but never so much as to lose this casual jazz listener. Some parts of Radiolarians drove me nuts like the opening section of "First Light" but then you can't deny the beauty when the guys get grooving after their atmospheric experiment. It's the funk that really is draw for me. We get the funk full on with "Cloud Wars", one of the grooviest tracks they've laid down. It, too, has some experimenting in it but you have to keep things fresh. A little different is "Muchas Gracias", a song that could find it's way into a desert scene in a top rated movie. Love the Melodica, the piano thingy that you blow into, in this one. In fact we hear John Medeski playing all sorts of different keyboard type instruments: piano, hammond, melodica etc. For piano, you can't beat the dexterous and groovy "Professor Nohair", one of my favorite tracks on Radiolarians. The single that was released is called "Free Go Lily" and it is the most conventional of the set and the most like their past catalog. 

Radiolarians I is an amazing album and even if you aren't familiar with Medeski Martin and Wood you should give this album a shot. Even if you don't have any jazz in your collection I think you can find something to grab hold of here.