The Dropper is an album by avant-jazz-funk organ trio Medeski, Martin & Wood.[5][6]

The Dropper
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 24, 2000
Recorded1999–2000
(Shacklyn, Brooklyn, NYC)
GenreJazz funk
Acid jazz
Jam band
Length60:40
LabelBlue Note Records[1]
ProducerMedeski Martin & Wood, Scotty Hard[2]
Medeski Martin & Wood chronology
Tonic
(2000)
The Dropper
(2000)
Electric Tonic
(2001)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]

The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.[7]

Critical reception

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The Washington Post wrote: "In many ways the chaotic and funk-soul soundscapes on MMW's The Dropper are not avant-garde but downright conservative, coming 40 years after the advent of organ jazz and 30 after free jazz."[8] Exclaim! called The Dropper "their crankiest, most difficult album to date, as they wade into pointy-headed jazz-funk realms, but that's only because they've burrowed more deeply still into the funk."[2] The Riverfront Times thought that "Medeski's particularly compelling in his style, banging on keyboards with a precise recklessness, and he expands his keyboard army by, it seems, dozens of instruments."[9]

Track listing

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  1. "We Are Rolling" – 7:04
  2. "Big Time" – 3:23
  3. "Fèlic" – 3:21
  4. "Partido Alto" – 5:42
  5. "Illinization" – 2:31
  6. "Bone Digger" – 2:22
  7. "Note Bleu" – 3:01
  8. "The Dropper" – 3:29
  9. "Philly Cheese Blunt" – 4:49
  10. "Sun Sleigh" – 2:23
  11. "Tsukemono" – 3:23
  12. "Shacklyn Knights" – 4:44
  13. "Norah 6" – 4:51

Performers

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Credits

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  • Engineered and mixed by Scotty Hard (except "Illinization", mixed by David Baker)
  • Assisted at Shacklyn by Phillip Harvey
  • Assisted at Greene Street Studios by Phil Painson
  • Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk (NYC)
  • Assisted at Masterdisk by Andy Van Dette
  • Photography: Danny Clinch
  • Art direction and design: Chippy

References

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  1. ^ "Medeski, Martin & Wood". Blue Note Records. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Medeski Martin and Wood The Dropper". exclaim.ca.
  3. ^ AllMusic review
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 684.
  5. ^ Green, Tony. "Medeski, Martin and Wood: The Dropper". JazzTimes.
  6. ^ "Medeski, Martin & Wood | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  7. ^ "Medeski Martin & Wood". Billboard.
  8. ^ Judge, Mark Gauvreau (December 3, 2000). "MMW's 'Dropper': An Earful Of Jazz" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  9. ^ Roberts, Randall. "Medeski, Martin and Wood". Riverfront Times.