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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | InvocationBilly Martin, John Medeski, Chris Wood | Medeski, Martin & Wood | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | AfriqueDuke Ellington, Lee Morgan | Medeski, Martin & Wood | Play | 08:24 | 19 MB | 44 MB |
| 3 | Seven DeadliesBilly Martin, John Medeski, Chris Wood | Medeski, Martin & Wood | Play | 10:56 | 25 MB | 69 MB |
| 4 | Your LadyJohn Coltrane | Medeski, Martin & Wood | Play | 09:12 | 21 MB | 46 MB |
| 5 | Rise UpBilly Martin, John Medeski, Chris Wood | Medeski, Martin & Wood | Play | 11:14 | 25 MB | 64 MB |
| 6 | Buster Rides AgainBud Powell | Medeski, Martin & Wood | Play | 07:36 | 17 MB | 42 MB |
| 7 | ThawBilly Martin, John Medeski, Chris Wood | Medeski, Martin & Wood | Play | 11:32 | 26 MB | 67 MB |
| 8 | Hey JoeBilly Roberts | Medeski, Martin & Wood | Play | 05:30 | 12 MB | 22 MB |
| 69 mins | 159 MB | |||||
| 69 mins | 385 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Baker | Preparation for CD Mastering |
| 2 | Heung-Heung "Chippy" Chin | Art Direction, Design |
| 3 | John Coltrane | Composer |
| 4 | Frederico Cribiore | Engineer |
| 5 | Duke Ellington | Composer |
| 6 | Mantis Evar | Project Manager |
| 7 | Billy Martin | Composer, Drums, Maracas Mbira, Percussion, Performer |
| 8 | John Medeski | Composer, Melodica, Performer, Piano |
| 9 | Medeski, Martin & Wood | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 10 | Lee Morgan | Composer |
| 11 | Bud Powell | Composer |
| 12 | Billy Roberts | Composer |
| 13 | Mark Wilder | Mastering |
| 14 | Chris Wood | Bass, Composer |
Medeski Martin & Wood
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |