About

The avant-jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood – John Medeski on keys, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass – debuted on Blue Note in 1998 with the explosive Combustication which took Blue Note’s organ tradition to hitherto unforeseen realms. For their 2nd Blue Note album the band returned to their acoustic roots on the freewheeling 1999 live album Tonic recorded in their original piano/upright bass/drums configuration at the intimate and beloved Lower East Side NYC venue. The set featured the trio’s own adventurous originals like “Seven Deadlies” and “Rise Up” alongside covers of songs by Lee Morgan (“Afrique”), Bud Powell (“Buster Rides Again”), John Coltrane (“Your Lady”), and Jimi Hendrix (“Hey Joe”).

This stereo Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition was mastered by Kevin Gray and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal. — (via Label)

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The first officially released live album by Medeski, Martin & Wood, as well as their first acoustic recording since their debut, Tonic captures the best of several 1999 performances at the small New York City club of the same name. The group's playing is a nice mix of outside, bop, and funky grooves, but the difference here is that Medeski is unable to rely on the electric organ to produce effects. That often means his lines are busier and more staccato than usual, and, especially on "Invocation" and "Thaw," he takes spirited flights into the avant-garde with chaotic yet controlled flurries of notes.

The group's rhythmic interplay, too, becomes more important in this context, with the grooves shifting around often enough to give the musicians more to react to. The eight-song program is equally divided between originals and covers with the latter category including hard bop material by Lee Morgan, John Coltrane, and Bud Powell, as well as a gentle, album-closing rendition of the rock standard "Hey Joe." Although Tonic is markedly different from the jazz-funk-rock with which MMW made their name, it's a rewarding excursion and one of their most purely jazz-oriented works. — (via AllMusic)

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Although best known as organ-jazz funketeers, New York’s Medeski, Martin & Wood reportedly started out as a piano-led trio — but the organ was just easier to cart around on tour.

Now that they presumably can pay roadies to hoist the baby grand, MMW have stripped away the fatback and returned to their original configuration for live gigs, including this enticing set taped at N.Y.C.’s Tonic club. But while the instruments are traditional, their approach isn’t — as their mournful, dirgey version of Hey Joe makes wonderfully clear. For the most part, though, this eight-song set switches between new originals and classic covers like John Coltrane’s Your Lady and Bud Powell’s Buster Rides Again. Frankly, it’s tough to tell the diff — Medeski’s stabbing chords and tinkling melodies, not to mention the lumpy, churning post-bop of the rhythm section, give everything a lean, muscular flavour that goes perfectly with a glass of scotch and a smoke. Even unplugged, these guys are electrifying. — (via Tinnitist)

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Label: Blue Note
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Remastered, Stereo, 180g
Reissued: 2026 / Originally Released: 2000
Genre: Jazz
Style: Free Jazz

File under: Blue Note 
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