Medeksi Martin & Wood: Combustication

Keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood are all products of New York City's vibrant jazz scene, but the band may be best known for the avid following it has developed among noodle-focused Phish fans. After all, MMW's open-ended and sometimes flat-out wild space excursions offer many similarities to several post-Dead jam-rock outfits, with the added benefit of some honest-to-goodness funk—something that eluded the Dead for years, and continues to elude Phish. After three albums spent challenging and confounding jazz purists, MMW now finds itself on the prestigious Blue Note label, and, for once, the music seems to be developing a bit beyond endless and aimless grooves. The occasional input of DJ Logic adds some percussive scratching to the mix, and the band's transformation of Sly Stone's "Everyday People" into a hypnotic ballad shows that someone in the trio has a sense of humor. Most importantly, Combustication finally finds MMW's rhythm section coming into its own, with the six-minute "Start-Stop" playfully shifting gears, tempos, and textures with little or no warning. Medeski Martin & Wood may not be quite as funky as The Meters, but The Meters never did swing like this. Call it a draw, then, and bask in the rhythm.