Medeski, Martin, and Wood – End of the World Party
This may be a little preemptive, but I’m sure we all know the world is due to end in 2012. Saturday night may very well be the last New Year’s Eve any of us celebrate. With that in mind, I’d thought we’d all enjoy a good party song, with an appropriate title for the occasion: Medeski, Martin, and Wood’s “End of the World Party” of their 2004 End of the World Party (Just In Case).
I briefly mentioned MMW in my entry on Jimmy Smith. While Jimmy Smith’s influence on any Hammond B3 player cannot be underestimated, John Medeski is definitely one of the best playing the instrument today. On this piece, Medeski actually shreds a few different kinds of keyboards including something that sounds a lot like a Wurlitzer electric piano and various synthesizers. Medeski and his different sounds take the forefront of this acid jazz party track, but Billy Martin’s drumming and Chris Wood’s bass playing are irreplaceable for the great beats and rhythm they provide. Especially exciting in this piece is what sounds like sampled strings and voices. It’s amazing to consider how much this band, having begun as a simple acoustic piano, standup bass, and drum set trio, has grown over the years into this experimental group.
Whether it’s the end of the world or not, this is a great song to get people dancing at any party.
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