No combo, inside or outside jazz, better exemplifies the folly of rigid categorization than Medeski, Martin & Wood. Though they got their start playing in some of New York City’s edgier clubs, their albums aren’t primarily free-form or avant-garde. They’ve worked with hip-hop producers and performers, but they eschew any identification with ”acid-jazz.“ They love the organ-combo and soul-jazz sound, but they don’t specialize in that either.
”We really don’t care about any of the labels people try to put on us,“ says bassist Chris Wood, speaking by phone from the trio’s rehearsal space in Brooklyn. ”We love a lot of styles; we’ve played a lot of what people call ådowntown’ music; and we’ve heard a lot of funk, organ jazz, bop, and blues. All that stuff is an inspiration to us. But we’re not interested in trying to classify it.“
Medeski, Martin & Wood’s newest release, Combustication (Blue Note), superbly continues the threesome’s tradition of inspired eclecticism. The collection ranges from hip-hop-laced cuts like ”Start-Stop“ to an arresting cover of Sly Stone’s ”Everyday People“ to the stream-of-consciousness mélanges of ”Latin Shuffle,“ ”Coconut Boogaloo,“ and ”Hypnotized.“
Now a fan favorite and an established success, the group comes to the Ryman Auditorium this week as part of its Combustication Tour. The trio’s music has evolved and expanded considerably since its 1992 recording debut, Notes From the Underground. Keyboardist John Medeski now plays a complete array of electronic instruments and synthesizers, but he’s also as funky a Hammond B-3 organist as anyone working the chitlin’ circuit. Drummer Billy Martin lays down rhythms that sometimes slink and at other times crackle, while bassist Wood is the anchor, offering formidable lines and booming support.
Early on, Medeski, Martin & Wood established a reputation both as a ”groove“ band and as a combo that could get as far out as Sun Ra. Their popularity crested with the release of 1996’s Shack-man and its follow-up, Bubblehouse. But like others in the jazz world who find success with pop audiences, the trio has taken some sharp hits from traditionalist and purist critics, such as former Jazz Times book editor Stanley Dance.
In the end, though, it’s the music that matters to these three musicians. ”Jazz and improvisational influences combined with dance music; that’s what we do,“ Wood says. ”I think there are some performers today who lack the real spirit of jazz; it’s not about a particular rhythm or sound so much as it is about the spirit. You can also say the same thing about a lot of what they call åacid-jazz’: It’s too much about the groove, and not enough about playing that groove in an inspired fashion.“
The trio’s eclecticism may seem inclusive enough already, but Wood says there are some sounds that he and his bandmates haven’t explored yet. ”Whatever we do, we’re more interested in the roots than in what it has evolved into from a contemporary standpoint. We haven’t done any country music, but we’re looking at trying to work in some of the things from traditional mountain music and bluegrass. We also haven’t investigated anything like polka, but there’s probably something in there we could tap.“
With more and more people reassessing styles like jazz-rock and organ combos, Medeski, Martin & Wood are at the center of a growing movement. And as their incendiary performance at last year’s Newport Jazz Festival (recently aired on PBS) revealed, they’re especially charismatic live. Of course, anyone who’s seen this group in one of their previous local dates knows this already. And those who haven’t shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them in one of Nashville’s most revered music halls.
