The Dropper

The Dropper
Studio album by Medeski Martin & Wood
Released	October 24, 2000
Recorded	1999–2000 (Shacklyn, Brooklyn, NYC)
Genre	Jazz funk Acid jazz Jam band
Length	60:40
Label	Blue Note Records[1]
Producer	Medeski Martin & Wood, Scotty Hard[2]
Medeski Martin & Wood chronology
Tonic (2000) The Dropper (2000) Electric Tonic (2001)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]

The Dropper is the 2000 sixth studio album by avant-jazz-funk organ trio Medeski, Martin & Wood.[5][6]

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

Critical reception

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

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

• John Medeski – keyboards
• Billy Martin – drums, percussion
• Chris Wood – basses
• Marshall Allen – alto sax
• Marc Ribot – guitars
• Eddie Bobe – congas
• Paula Potocki – surdo
• Charlie Burnham – violin
• Joan Wasser – violin
• Jane Scarpantoni – cello

Credits

• 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

1. "Medeski, Martin & Wood". Blue Note Records. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
2. "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.