Acoustically awesome
I had never heard anything acoustic from MMW until I picked up this album. I loved every minute of this concert. "Afrique" and "Rise Up" were by far the best tracks on the CD. The great thing about this CD is that is a different MMW experience, but you can still it's them.

Simply Wonderful.
I own all of MMW's major releases, and I must say that TONIC is my second favorite, next to Friday Afternoon In the Universe. TONIC takes us back to the old acoustic MMW's acoustic style. This album is best when listened to straight through, just getting bits and pieces will not do it justice. So pop it into your player and enjoy.

One wild ride
I've dabbled in the MMW thing as a fan of classic jazz, and have felt mixed about their work. Sometimes they are right on the money, but other times it feels like they are trying too hard to fit with the hippie jam band scene, a scene which I really don't like. However, I've always had faith in the guys, and they gotta eat! But it's nice to hear them sink their teeth into some real acoustic jazz. What's great about this live disc is their energy, enthusiasm, and group dynamic. It's what comes of playing for a young, appreciative audience be they hippies or not. The three are really communicating here, without all the bells and whistles, playing Coltrane tunes, creating monster grooves, and even doing some free-improv (which I'm not all the way into usually but it works well here). I've actually seen them playing this stuff live and it's just as intense here as it is in the club. So get this for a wild ride into improvisational music.

Back to their roots.
For those only casually familiar with MMW, this disc may come off as somewhat of a surprise.The mainstream press has pidgeon-holed these boys as just another "groove-band". While there is definitely a post-hippie following associated with the group, they are at their core, a jazz trio. This is where their roots lie. And as anyone who has seen them live can attest, they are not swayed easily by the desires of their fans to play endless [body]-shaking encores. I have seen them live quite a few times and they always exceed my expectations for great jazz based improvisation. Past tours have generally consisted of an opening set of acoustic jazz trio exploration, followed by a second set of electric groove oriented pieces.

When they made their residency stay at Tonic, their focus was an all acoustic setting. No electric instruments. Back to the basics. This album contains the fruits of that endeavor. Within it are swinging jazz piano trio stylings merged with free form explorations and rhythmic vamps.

MMW sometimes have a tendency to dwell rather long on AACM inspired quiet free introductions to their sets, which often tests the patience of their hippie-fan base contingent, but here all the fat is trimmed. And after a brief introductory fanfare things are immediately off to swingland. Lee Morgan's "Afrique" is the first cover tune on the album. Coltrane's "Your Lady" and Bud Powell's "Buster Rides Again" also make welcome appearances.

You can tell they've been playing with each other for years. You can hear it in how they shift gears at a moment?s notice from sprightly walking bass, be-bop 4/4 rhythms and 16th note piano flurries straight into a maelstrom of modal ostinato bass plucking, free fill drum exhortations and dissonant piano swirls. These telepathic and dynamic interactions make up the majority of the playing on the disc, with only a few super quiet numbers. Remarkably, one of the softest tracks on the album is their cover of "Hey Joe". When things do get quieter, such as on the Coltrane piece, interesting instruments begin to appear, like Medeski's melodica and Martin's collection of ethnic percussion.

There are four original tunes on the album, and all of them contain the same momentous push and pull of structure vs. free improv. The general feel of the album can best be summed up by describing one of the original tunes, "Seven Deadlies". The band slowly starts the piece out in vamp mode, building it up with swaggering R & B piano chords, ostinato bass playing and a quick spirited boogaloo drum pattern. But just as quickly as the theme is conceived, it is mutated again. Dissonant piano chords and meandering bass playing overlay a still steady shuffle rhythm. But then the pace quickens to a speedy free-bop rush complete with frenzied piano runs. But once again, the theme re-emerges and off it goes and then back again, like endless waves.

The interesting thing about their approach to free playing is in their sense of democracy. One of the trio members is almost always holding down the structure of the piece. As a shuffle rhythm contorts into a bashing free cymbal soliloquy and the bass wanders off into metric patterns, you can hear Medeski holding it all together by playing the song's core melody as a chordal vamp in the background. In a few bars he could be pounding out atonal chord clusters and Martin could be playing call and response figures with him, but you'll be able to hear Chris Wood keeping the bass ostinato going, and so on and on it goes.

If you dig good telepathic jazz trio improv and / or are already a fan of the band, this is definitely worth getting. If you thought they were merely a "jam" band, then you need to hear this to dis-spell that fallacy. Oh, and by the way, the live sound is pretty good, very little audience noise.

tonic proves strong
Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) show why substance always trumps style in the jazz arena. Not that they don't have any style, but I'll get to that later. The best thing about this disc is that these boys can just flat-out play. The listener feels like a privileged fly on the wall at one of MMW's private jam sessions. It's outrageous how good Medeski is on piano. There were times when I just had to get up and replay part of a track again (and again) to make sure I was actually hearing what I thought I was hearing (if that makes sense). And Martin and Wood are no slouches either. Every melodic theme teases the audience by beautifully resisting it's harmonic "resolve" until the last possible second. Each player shares the focus unselfishly, like a basketball team full of point guards. As other reviewers have already pointed out, Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" is the last track, and although it may sound blasphemous to some, I think it has been improved upon. If you're looking for tracks that put a fresh face on jazz -- a fresh face on music in general -- then I highly suggest picking up this quality disc.