MEDESKI, SCOFIELD, MARTIN & WOOD — Juice (2014) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The third studio meeting in nearly 17 years between Medeski, Martin & Wood and guitarist John Scofield has no easy referent to their earlier recordings -- purposely. This quartet sounds like a real band on Juice, which is a mixed blessing. The positive aspect is that this longtime collaboration creates near instinctive communication. This is a much more inside date, though the rhythmic interplay between bassist Chris Wood and drummer Billy Martin is outstanding throughout. There are four covers from the 1960s scattered among the various originals; some work better than others. One is "Sham Time," an Eddie Harris tune. The obvious inspiration, though, is Willie Bobo's version from the 1968 album A New Dimension. This quartet does it justice with spark, crackle, groove, and grease. The driving organ vamp on Scofield's "New London" offers a British rave-up wedded to Brazilian funk and Latin boogaloo. The solos by the guitarist and John Medeski are lyrical, tight, and flow right out of one another. Martin's "Louis the Shoplifter" is populated with killer interlocking salsa grooves between him and Medeski (who evokes Eddie Palmieri's experimetnal side in his playing) amid knotty changes. Wood's bassline develops along the drummer's pumping, double-time snare and syncopated breaks. Scofield's solo roils with serpentine post-bop shards. "Juicy Lucy," a group composition, finds Scofield taking "Louie Louie" as inspiration. Medeski builds on it with excellent montunos, contrasting mid-'60s Latin R&B with early rock & roll. The fingerpopping exchanges between Wood, Martin, and guest conguero Pedrito Martinez are nasty and tight. Wood's "Helium" is the strangest, perhaps most compelling thing here, comprised of angular harmonies, arpeggiated, nearly fusion-esque statements from guitarist and pianist, and a whomping bassline. Martin's forro-esque pulse -- that borders on the martial -- locks it down. The cultural baggage associated with the Doors' "Light My Fire" is too great for even these musicians to transcend, and with a straight rock chart, it feels tossed off. Conversely, the reading of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love," at nearly 11 minutes, contains an imaginative arrangement that makes the listener almost forget the original. Martin's and Wood's slow, rocksteady reggae groove is downright steamy. Scofield works a spooky blues vamp that unwinds slowly into fragmented solos while Medeski gets swampy on the organ, stating the melody tersely with one hand, and improvising with the other. Finally, engineer Danny Bloom adds a remix with loads of reverb and echo, making it a tripped-out dubwise jam. The guitarist's funky "Stovetop" is an excellent modernist revisioning of post-tropicalia samba jazz with all members finding plenty of room to move inside it, Martinez's congas add fand heat. While Juice is mostly engaging and satisfying, the pervasive "let's just see what happens" approach MSMW took here also has a downside: it delivers a self-contented vibe rather than one of discovery that their previous records revealed in spades.
 -> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist:
1 Sham Time 5:46
Composed By – Eddie Harris
2 North London 6:35
Composed By – John Scofield
3 LouisThe Shoplifter 6:07
Composed By – Billy Martin
4 Juicy Lucy 7:07
Composed By – Billy Martin, Chris Wood, John Medeski, John Scofield
5 I Know You 8:02
Composed By – John Scofield
6 Helium 4:03
Composed By – Chris Wood
7 Light My Fire 5:36
Composed By – Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Raymond Manzarek, Robby Krieger
8 Sunshine Of Your Love 10:52
Composed By – Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Brown
9 Stovetop 5:27
Composed By – John Scofield
10 The Times They Are A-Changin' 3:37
Composed By – Bob Dylan
Credits:
Bass [Basses] – Chris Wood
Drums, Cuica, Talking Drum, Caxixi, Guiro – Billy Martin
Guest [Special Guest], Congas, Guiro – Pedrito Martinez
Guitar – John Scofield
Keyboards – John Medeski

JOHN ZORN - FilmWorks III : 1990-1995 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

From the fragmented cut-ups of Zorn's long-form compositions and the short intense blasts of Naked City's Torture Garden, Zorn forged a name for himself as a musical miniaturist. Filmworks III contains 25 cues commissioned by Portland's vanguard advertising agency Weidman & Kennedy for 15-to-60 second TV commercials directed by, among others, Godard, Cronenberg, Sven Nykquist, and Industrial Light & Magic.

This star-studded spectacular includes the first recordings by the band that would later become Masada, a bizarre Zorn/Ribot duo, and nine rediscovered demo tracks for Zorn's rara avis: the soundtrack to the Japanese cartoon Cynical Hysterie Hour.  TZADIK
Tracklist :
1    Main Title    1:00
2    The Caper    0:57
3    Cadence    0:15
4    Kidnapping    2:15
5    Doubt    0:19
6    Nocturne 1    0:26
7    Nocturne 2    0:55
8    Bag Man    2:00
9    The Cop    0:27
10    Nocturne 3    0:55
11    Juke Box    2:45
12    End Titles    4:28
13    Music For Tsunta (Nine Cues) 3:31
Bass, Tuba – David Hofstra
Drums, Percussion – Bobby Previte
Guitar, Banjo – Bill Frisell
Turntables – Christian Marclay
14    Main Titles    1:36
15    Washing Machine A    0:26
16    Washing Machine B    0:39
17    Night Hotel    1:17
18    Japanese Tourists    1:54
19    Night Hotel 2    1:18
20    Objects    3:16
21    Night Hotel 3    1:00
22    Rooftop Death Rattle    0:59
23    Taiwan    3:48
24    End Titles    1:50
25    Holland 0:16
Bass – Kermit Driscoll
26    Canada    0:31
27    France 0:16
Bass – Bill Laswell
Guitar, Vocals – Arto Lindsay
28    Germany 0:33
Guitar – Arto Lindsay
29    Sweden 0:30
Flute – Keith Underwood
Harmonica – Miguel Frasconi
Viola – Jill Jaffee
30    USA 0:28
Bass – Bill Laswell
31    Canada 2    0:15
32    Sweden 2 0:15
Flute – Keith Underwood
Harmonica – Miguel Frasconi
Viola – Jill Jaffee
33    Italy 0:14
Accordion – Guy Klucevsek
34    Great Lobby    0:33
35    Wheelchair Races 0:42
Drums – Sim Cain
36    Logo    0:14
37    Secret Code    0:34
38    Secret Code 2    1:04
39    Don't Break    0:40
40    Don't Break 2    1:09
41    Footnotes    0:35
42    Footnotes 2    1:10
43    Retraction    0:41
44    Retraction 2    1:15
45    Protest    0:39
46    Protest 2    1:13
47    Launch    0:42
48    Launch 2    1:14
49    Elevator    0:40
50    Elevator 2    1:09
51    Fiance    0:39
52    Fiance 2    1:13
53    Around The World    1:06
54    Batman    0:32
55    Abstract Woman    0:35
56    Mystic Woman    0:39
Credits :    Bass – Chris Wood (pistas: 35, 37 to 52, 54 to 56), Greg Cohen (pistas: 1 to 12, 33)
Cello – Erik Friedlander (pistas: 37 to 56)
Drums – Joey Baron (pistas: 1 to 12, 33, 54 to 56)
Electronic Drums – Ikue Mori (pistas: 27, 28, 53)
Guitar – Marc Ribot (pistas: 14 to 25, 28, 35, 37 to 52, 54 to 56), Robert Quine (pistas: 11, 30, 34, 35, 37 to 56)
Harp – Carol Emmanuel (pistas: 13, 25, 26, 28, 31)
Keyboards – Anthony Coleman (pistas: 33, 34, 54 to 56), Peter Scherer (pistas: 13, 26, 31)
Keyboards, Sampler, Turntables – David Shea (pistas: 26, 30, 31, 35, 37 to 53)
Percussion, Vocals – Cyro Baptista (pistas: 13, 25, 26, 31, 34, 36 to 56)
Producer – John Zorn
Saxophone – John Zorn (pistas: 1 to 12, 14 to 24, 54 to 56)
Trumpet – Dave Douglas (pistas: 1 to 12)

JOHN SCOFIELD - A Go Go (1997) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

John Scofield owes a great deal to Medeski, Martin & Wood for the success of A Go Go. The piano/organ, bass, and drum playing trio adds a world of bouncing vibes to Scofield's inquisitive, happy guitar work here. A Go Go is an album of mostly breezy, sometimes tense, jam-based grooves. The album's charm is in its "city meets the tropics" feel. The four players create such a warm, vibrant sound that resisting the urge to tap one's feet along with the beat becomes a near impossibility. The opening song is a treat of plucked guitars and tightly packed new jazz. Other standouts are "Kubrick," a swooning, gentle change of pace packed with background tension, and "Hottentot," a tour de force of dynamic interplay. There's nary a moment of filler to be found across the ten tracks. It's clear that Scofield enjoyed the collaboration, as his guitars seem to nearly speak joy. His alternately jangling and plucking style sees him weaving in and out of the young trio's sound net with ample confidence. As fun as A Go Go is, it's just as well-sequenced, as Scofield and company vary their pace and tone expertly throughout the album's running time. A Go Go is far more than four cool cats jamming together and enjoying each other's company. It's an immensely entertaining, enlightening ride. by Tim DiGravina
Tracklist :
1. A Go Go 6:36
John Scofield
2. Chank 6:46
John Scofield
3. Boozer 5:27
John Scofield
4. Southern Pacific 5:13
John Scofield
5. Jeep On 35 4:31
John Scofield
6. Kubrick 2:13
John Scofield
7. Green Tea 5:11
John Scofield
8. Hottentot 6:46
John Scofield
9. Chicken Dog 6:22
John Scofield
10. Deadzy 2:41
John Scofield
Credits :
Bass [Acoustic, Electric] – Chris Wood
Drums, Tambourine – Billy Martin
Guitar [Electric, Acoustic], Whistle – John Scofield
Organ, Organ [Wurlitzer], Clavinet, Piano – John Medeski