As a band name, Medeski Martin & Wood is a bit strange. The moniker works, but is also fit for a corporate legal group. One gets the impression a missing LLP should follow the name. “Amber Gris” is the trio’s latest video and it comes from their latest album Radiolarians II. They’ve also got new one on the burner; Radiolarians III will be available for purchase August 4.

My first listens to tracks like “Amber Gris” and, off their upcoming LP, “Undone”, I had visions of modern jazz. Not the contemporary stuff, either — the hip underground movement of jazz that features loops, forays into rock with mightier percussion, and dabbles in the experimental. It’s much along the lines of Bluebridge Quartet.

The video, likewise, is something you’d expect from such a band — dark with masterful cinematography. The song itself uses a nontraditional time signature and spans between being minimal at times while at others full of life and instrumentation. The result is beautiful songcraft.

Again, Radiolarians III will be released August 4. But if you wait a bit, you can get a packaged deal: the trio of Radiolarians releases as a box set of CDs or LPs late this year.

Medeski Martin & Wood: Amber Gris [mp3]

Medeski Martin & Wood: Undone [mp3]