''Shack-man'' is an album by

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

trio

Medeski Martin & Wood Medeski Martin & Wood (or MMW) is an American jazz fusion band formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. The band is influenced by musical traditions including funk and hip hop and ...

, released in 1996. It peaked at #7 on the ''Billboard'' Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.

Production

The album was recorded in an isolated shack in Hawaii, with power supplied by solar energy and generators.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the album "the best example to date of the trio's cerebral fusion of soul-jazz, hip-hop, and post-punk worldbeat." ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' wrote that "the changes are episodic, as in funk, rather than conversational, as in jazz." ''

Relix ''Relix'', originally and occasionally later ''Dead Relix'', is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concert ...

'' called it a "dark, funky dorm room breakthrough." The ''

Cleveland Scene The ''Cleveland Scene'' is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Cleveland, Ohio. The newspaper includes highlights of Cleveland-area arts, music, dining, and films, as well as classified advertising. The first edition of the newspaper was pub ...

'' wrote that the group "made it cool to groove again with 1996's ''Shack Man'', a Hammond-hammered Phish-lot mainstay that opened the door for instrumental improv groups like Soulive and Particle."

Track listing

All music by

except where noted. #"Is There Anybody Here That Love My Jesus" (traditional, arr. by MMW) – 4:27 #"Think" – 5:16 #"Dracula" – 4:16 #"Bubblehouse" – 4:27 #"Henduck" – 4:38 #"Strance of the Spirit Red Gator" – 7:06 #"Spy Kiss" – 4:22 #"Lifeblood" – 7:06 #"Jelly Belly" – 4:42 #"Night Marchers" – 4:26 #"Kenny" – 4:43

Performers

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

–

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptua ...

, Pianet T,

toy piano The toy piano, also known as the ''kinderklavier'' (child's keyboard), is a small piano-like musical instrument. Most modern toy pianos use round metal rods, as opposed to strings in a regular piano, to produce sound. The U.S. Library of Congress ...

, Yamaha CSO1 II *

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

– drums, percussion * Chris Wood – acoustic bass, electric basses, guitar

Credits

*Recording engineer: David Baker *Assisted by Carl Green and Mark Kindermann *Mixed at IIWII,

Weehawken Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

, NJ with David Baker and Katsu Naito *Edited at Current Sounds,

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with Bob Ward *Mastered by Dr. Toby Mountain, Northeastern Digital Recording *Executive producer:

Hans Wendl Hans Wendl is a producer. He began his career in the music business with the record label ECM Records in his hometown of Munich in the mid-1970s and was associated with the German label for twelve years before moving to the United States in 1986. ...

*LP management: Liz Penta *Band photo by Michael Macioce *Artwork by Billy Martin, 1996

References

{{Authority control 1996 albums Medeski Martin & Wood albums Gramavision Records albums