Essential Listening: Soul Coughing

Combine the funky groove-jazz of Medeski Martin and Wood, the madman stream-of-consciousness rambling of Captain Beefheart, and the songwriting sensibility of Dave Matthews, and you'll have something that sounds like Soul Coughing. They were relatively short-lived, having only released three albums, but that can be a good thing. Their music can stand on its own, without the inevitable need that comes with time to adapt or evolve into something different. There are no half-baked ideas or questionable musical decisions anywhere in their discography. Just three albums full of ground-breaking material from a band in its prime.

To me, Soul Coughing is undeniably summer music. I can't say why exactly, but it probably explains why they've been on my mind lately.

Soul Coughing - Uh, Zoom Zip

Soul Coughing - Soundtrack to Mary (Live)

Soul Coughing - Moon Sammy