Guitar guru John Scofield and groove-heavy trio Medeski Martin & Wood unite for a jaw-dropping improvisational album that continues to inspire and push their sound to new levels.

The first time improvisational jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) played with jazz guitarist Scofield on record was on his A Go Go (Verve 1998) album, a disc that has become a must-have classic. On Out Louder, the inaugural release for MMW's own Indirecto Records label, Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood play and improvise as a foursome. The result is a sound rooted in the earth tones of jazz, funk, and blues. Music from the heart, for the mind, and made to shake the earth, not to mention the body. Recorded in under a week at Shacklyn, MMW's fabled downtown Brooklyn studio, Out Louder reeks of the scruffy, spirited basement in which it was created. "Maybe 60% was improvising and writing together," recalls Martin. "We have a typical MMW style which is going into the studio without knowing what we are going to do. We tried a lot of different ideas with John, but the best things seemed to come out of improvisation."

That, and the four musician's yen for jazz, funk, rock, soul and reggae, go a long way towards explaining why Out Louder's deep grooves and sophisticated harmonies beg for closer inspection while simultaneously making you want to get up and dance. The first track "Little Walter Rides Again" is everything you could want from the foursome - an ultra-funky groove, sweet-and-salty guitar lines that stick in your head like peanut butter, dense organ grooves, and slippery bass licks. While "Miles Behind," finds the quartet in full-on free jazz mode, paying tribute to Scofield's former employer Miles Davis' electric period, "Julia" is a solemn take on a John Lennon classic featuring hymn-like guitar lines and Medeski's soulful keys. Out Louder ends with an improvisation-rich take on Peter Tosh's reggae anthem "Legalize It." "What makes this exceptional is the combination of the groove and John's guitar sound," says Martin. This music does come from a deep, hip, funky place, and Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood are ready to take it out there and everywhere.

TOUR DATES
11/10/06 Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
11/11/06 Philadelphia, PA, Electric Factory
11/12/06 Northampton, MA, Calvin Theatre
11/14/06 Burlington, VT, Higher Ground
11/15/06 Providence, RI, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
11/16/06 Boston, MA, Berklee Performance Center
12/03/06 Lawrence, KS, Liberty Hall
12/04/06 Columbia, MO, The Blue Note
12/05/06 St Louis, MO, Mississippi Nights
12/07/06 Minneapolis, MN, First Avenue
12/08/06 Milwaukee, WI, The Eagles Club
12/09/06 Chicago, IL, Vic Theatre
12/10/06 Indianapolis, IN, Vogue Theatre