There’s a scene in “Not Not Jazz,” a film about the fusion jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood, where the camera prowls around bassist Chris Wood as he slowly saws his upright bass on an upstate New York tennis court dotted with fallen leaves. There are a lot of scenes like that in “Not Not Jazz.” I suspect that if you’re as interested in the process of music as in the result, it’ll be one of the elements you’ll like most about the movie.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/not-not-jazz-documentary-movie-review-2024
The trailer is here: https://youtu.be/pon7EKYNe14
It’s available on AppleTV or however you watch stuff like this.
MMW’s early shit is fucking amazing. Back when they were mainly acoustic jazz. Everything up through Friday afternoon in the universe is must-own. Yes, there’s a lot of Hammond B3 and clavinet and whatnot, but it’s good shit. And these guys put on a fucktacular live show.
Their later shit with DJ logic and Scofield, I’d pass. Combustication was pretty blah, but Latin Shuffle is dope af.
They kind of had a renaissance with the radiolarians series and the stuff they did for Zorn. Nothing like their early stuff, but still good.
Best album has to be it’s a jungle in here. Also, their cover of Angel Race/I’ll wait for you is amazing.
Fuck, I miss the old MMW.