Record Reviews

MEDESKI SCOFIELD MARTIN & WOOD ~ LIVE: IN CASE THE WORLD CHANGES ITS MIND INDIRECTO 13 (Barcode: 891817001324) ~ UK ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2006 Released: 2011 This is the 2nd (and debut live) album by the American Jazz-Rock Fusion quartet Medeski Scofield Martin & WoodFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. MSMWFind albums by this artist), a spin-off of the trio Medeski Martin & WoodFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. MMWFind albums by this artist), which comprises of keyboardist John MedeskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist John ScofieldFind albums by this artist, drummer Billy MartinFind albums by this artist and bassist Chris WoodFind albums by this artist. The 2CD album presents twelve tracks, five of which were composed by Scofield, two are traditional tunes, and the rest are by the co-composed by MMW. The music is, sadly, quite a stale form of Fusion, which introduces nothing new, exciting or creative and presents mostly excessive doodling, which leads nowhere. Of course hearing this music live might be a way to have fun, but after a short while it really becomes quite tedious. As much as I like and respect John Scofield for his contributions to Jazz and Fusion for so many years, his involvement in this liaison is rather unnecessary IMHO. He does play some beautiful guitar soli herein, but sadly that is not enough to save the day. Overall, this is a great example of the death of Fusion, which is not dead, but smells really funny – to quote, or rather misquote, a very wise man. The worse thing about this music is that it is so boring!

Updated: 04/07/2026Posted: 04/07/2026

CD 2 Digisleeve Recommend To A Friend

MIKE STERN ~ BIG NEIGHBORHOOD HEADS UP 3157 (Barcode: 053361315726) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2009 Released: 2009 Guitar virtuoso Mike SternFind albums by this artist already proved his talents in the last three decades, being not only as an incredibly talented player, but also as a composer, bandleader and recording artists. What I admire about this great musician is his ability to maintain an incredible consistency and dedication to keep up a highly artistic standard. With this, his 16th album as a leader, Stern does it again, again all odds. Full of excellent new compositions (all of them his own) and brilliant instrumental work, this album is also a melting pot of ideas and musical directions. Stern invited many of his peers to take part in the recording and the final list of participants reads like a who´s who of modern Fusion: guitarists Steve VaiFind albums by this artist and Eric JohnsonFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Jim BeardFind albums by this artist, drummers Dave WecklFind albums by this artist and Terri Lyne CarringtonFind albums by this artist and even the entire trio of Medeski Martin & WoodFind albums by this artist – and this is only a partial list. In spite of the multitude of participants, the album presents a remarkable consistency and makes perfect sense by any standard. There´s really no point in explaining again and again how good this stuff is – simply listen to it and you´ll know. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant stuff!

Updated: 12/07/2026Posted:

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend