“Liner Notes” is a Sounds Visual Media spinoff series where musicians, composers, DJs, beatmakers, and collectors dig into their crates to share favorite records. In this installment, Amanda–the PhDJ–dives into Medeski Martin & Wood’s beloved album Shack-man, a cohesive, accessible masterpiece that opened the door for many fans to appreciate the trio’s infectious grooves and experimental, funk-infused jazz sound.

___

This is Amanda, a.k.a. PhDJ, and I am so glad to have the chance to talk about one of my very favorite albums today: MMW’s Shack-man.

Now, I know what you’re thinking—of course, that’s a slam dunk. Why didn’t you pick something more obscure, maybe more mysterious? I get it. Shack-man is beloved. It’s so well-known, what could I possibly have to add to decades of rave reviews? Well…

First, if it weren’t for this album, I would wager that many jam band fans wouldn’t have been exposed to the freight train of a groove that MMW brings. As someone who had already been a fan, but was also just really getting into the scene fully between 1995 and 1996—moving from Friday Afternoon in the Universe to Shack-man—you get this one-two punch that I still come back to all the time. So for me, it was actually a pretty easy exercise to figure out which album I wanted to talk about here.

Let’s dig into it just a little bit. First, as an album, it’s tight. It’s cohesive in a way that Friday Afternoon wasn’t, which I’m assuming was exactly the point, since obviously MMW knows what they’re doing at all times, even when we’re going on a wild ride with them.

You’ve got it all here from the very first moment Mr. Chris Wood kicks it off with that bass line on “Is There Anybody Here That Loves My Jesus?” It’s a traditional spiritual tune given the MMW treatment. It is just pure groove with that stop-start dynamic. For a trio that started out with such a focus on the acoustic piano vibe, the way they gave us such a big, full sound here that just grabs you—it’s something you have to stop and listen to.

Accessibility. That’s something I’ve always loved about MMW, and I think it’s really on display in Shack. Even on their more obtuse recordings, and of course live, I do feel MMW has a way of making all that jazz technique—which can be kind of off-putting or even uncomfortable for some music fans—feel good. Like, “Yeah, I get this, I want more of it.” To me, that’s more than a musical gift because it’s just so difficult to pull off that kind of crossover. Even though “crossover” can sometimes carry a slightly negative connotation, I really feel like it does justice to exactly what MMW provides and why they’re so universally loved.

Shack is a supreme example of that exact thing: incredible rhythmic foundations, all the keys, all of it. Everything from the Hammond to the clavinet, electronic piano, and even some toy pianos thrown in there in that Hawaiian shack where they recorded it. These are things that should not necessarily feel intuitive for most of us who aren’t trained musicians, and yet, they do. Somehow, MMW opens a door to let all of us in on this progressive acid jazz space, which has really shaped me and my musical wanderings for a lot of years now.

I could talk about Shack for hours, but if I had to point out just a few other cuts that are especially fantastic to my ears, I would love to chat about “Dracula.”

Look at the layers that “Dracula” takes on. It is the way I want my Dracula to be: a slow, sexy groove, dark, but not too dark. Somewhere in the middle is just right. You’ve got this steady rhythm, but if you listen closely to what’s happening in the background, there are these fantastic additions, almost out of reach. Some great percussive work happening there. It builds, recedes, and builds again—Dracula going in for another round.

I don’t want to ramble, so I will just say that when you can play with tempo the way that this song does, it’s like a masterclass in raising anticipation and expectation. Like, where is that crescendo? It’s almost there, and it is so satisfying when they finally bring us to that place.

“Strance of the Red Spirit Gator” is a prime example of how MMW can take seven minutes of a more stripped-down sound and make it feel completely right on. My personal favorite type of grooves are the ones that leave a lot of room for the individual thought of the listener. I don’t need to be drowning in a tidal wave of funk—although that’s super fun. MMW provides just enough of that melodic movement over Billy’s groove where you’d swear there’s a guitar in there somewhere, but it’s just one of those countless evocations that come from Medeski’s plethora of keyboard options–and, of course, there were so many used here.

And “Night Marchers”—is it any wonder that DJ Logic got all in on this action? That New York City vibe—MMW has always had it, but it’s perhaps most present right here for me. Chris Wood provides that perfect underpinning with some runs that just bring it all together and keep it moving forward. If only I had been able to see MMW with Logic and Cyro Baptista in 2011 at the Whitney! But the memories I do have of the Knitting Factory, Irving Plaza, Town Hall, you name it—running around the city, gobbling up every show I could find—I absolutely have nothing to complain about.

I will end by talking about “Kenny.” Good old Kenny coming out to roll back that gospel inspiration at the end, which to me is about as awesome a way to wrap up this album as I could have imagined—although my imagination is no match for these guys. It closes what to me has always felt like the most cohesive or put-together of their albums. I’m not sure if I need to feel that way to like an album, but the way I do feel about it, I so appreciate that kind of ending. “Kenny” definitely provided that.

More information about the PHDJ:

Website: 
www.allthatjampod.com
https://jambandbusinessdirectory.com/

Instagram: @allthatjampod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@allthatjampod