Record Boy Ink:

Record Boy would like to talk to you about two discs that I know you weren’t waiting for, but should own anyway.

Medeski Martin & Wood (not to be confused with Abraham, Martin & John), have been producing interesting music for most of the 1990’s and they start out this new decade with the release of Tonic (BlueNote), Tonic is a small lower east side New York club. Because the club is tiny, John Medeki’s grand piano was too big for the stage, so the band set up on the floor with the audience surrounding them and the set was recorded with only a pair of microphones in the club’s sweet spot. It sounds great.

The band opens up with a rousing version of their own “Invocation” followed by Lee Morgan’s “Afrique”. They also cover Coltrane’s “Your Lady”, Bud Powell’s “Buster Rides Again”, and perhaps the mellowest version ever recorded of “Hey Joe”. The coolest track on this live set is the band’s own “Seven Deadlies”. This tune has a million tempo changes that are driven by drummer Billy Martin while bassist Chris Wood holds down the bottom. It’s a piece with a driving, recurring melodic riff that melts down each time around into some wild improv by Medeski. I was impressed particularly with Martin’s drumming throughout this set. He can evoke memories of Tony Williams, Art Blakey and Elvin Jones…sometimes all in the same song. Tired of the same old sounds? This CD could be your Tonic.

Marc Ribot first came to my attention as the guitarist on many a Tom Waits project. His quirky style was captivating and made one wonder what a solo project of his would sound like. A couple of years ago he answered that question with an album of Cuban music and he’s back again with a new record Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos…

 Muy Divertido.

Ribot’s playing flows naturally with the Cuban rhythms. It’s no surprise that great guitarists like Ribot and Ry Cooder have embraced this setting for their music. Any guitarist worth his salt seems to flourish with the ritmo cubano.

On “Se Formo El Bochinche”, Anthony Coleman rides that B3 organ for all it’s worth only to be topped a few tracks later on the rockin’ “Carmela Dame La Llave” by Riley Osborne’s organ solo. Ribot shows off his jazzy chops on “El Gaucho Rojo” and his sense of humor on “Las Lomas De New Jersey”. On this track, Frankie Vasquez sings a plaintive ballad in Spanish while Ribot translates in English (ala “Guantanamera”) . Once you hear in English that the singer misses the lovely land of New Jersey, it makes you suspicious about what they’re singing about on the rest of the album!

The CD is delightful throughout. Ribot hits the nail on the head with the name of this album. It’s very entertaining indeed!

(Click Tonic if you wanna buy this CD online!)

(Click Muy Divertido! if you wanna buy this CD online!)