Jam Central Station 10.24.09: Medeski Martin and Wood
Posted by Jeff Modzelewski on 10.24.2009
A truly original and unique jazz trio, Medeski Martin and Wood have developed a loyal following of jam band fans and jazz enthusiasts. With their obvious talent and their desire to bring something different to the table, it's obvious to see why!
Welcome back for another week everyone. Hope things are good in your neck of the woods. We've been getting some good weather here, except for the rain today. I'm excited about a couple of concerts that might be coming up for me in the next couple of months, although nothing is settled yet. Basketball season starts next week, and that's a glimmer of hope for this Cleveland native. Other than that, it's business as usual here at Jam Central Station, so let's just get on with the show!
As a genre, the peak of popularity for jazz music passed a long time ago. Gone are the days of smoky bars and hours-long sets that last late into the night. The streamlined, overproduced world of popular music, for the most part, no longer has a place for the improvisational free-form genre of jazz. Luckily, that hasn't stopped there from being some recent standouts in the world of jazz. Medeski Martin and Wood, an eclectic jazz trio from Brooklyn, has been a force and a creative inspiration in the jazz world for nearly two decades.
The story of Medeski, Maritn, and Wood is obviously rooted in the story of the three musicians. John Medeski has been playing piano since childhood, and was an accomplished classical pianist by the time he was a teenager. His first love was classical music, and he brings that out in his playing both with MMW and with his other projects. Billy Martin grew up in a musical family, and was exposed to classical music, art, ballet, and opera at a young age. He began playing drums at 11, starting with a variety of 70's rock before moving on to other styles. He began taking jazz classes in high school, and was taking prep classes at the Manhattan School of Music by his senior year. Chris Wood dabbled in a variety of instruments as a child, but it wasn't until Chris's brother switched from bass to guitar when Chris picked up the bass. His brother's cast-off became Chris Wood's passion. Chris switched over to the stand-up bass in high school and moved out to Boston for college before finally landing in New York City.
The band formed in 1991 after friends Medeski and Wood left the New England Conservatory of Music for New York City. It was through a mutual friend that the two met up with drummer Billy Martin. The trio quickly realized that they all had a similar vision for the music they wanted to play: music that would explore a variety of genres while staying true to their jazz roots. They wanted to play music that was interesting and explorative while remaining simple enough for each member to be able to fill their musical space with improvisation. The band played their first gig together in 1991, and immediately began practicing and writing together. They released their first album less than a year later, 1992's Notes from the Underground.
In just a year after forming, Medeski Martin and Wood were quickly becoming an established act in the New York jazz scene. The members decided to take a risk and leave New York to play other cities. While New York City had a strong and supportive jazz scene, that's not true for many other cities. MMW, with their unique sound and improvisational style, were able to begin garnering support outside of NYC. They were signed with Gramavision Records and released It's A Jungle In Here in 1993. Being signed to Gramavision allowed MMW to begin touring the country and expanding on their sound. The band would go on to release two more albums and an EP on Gramavision, 1995's Friday Afternoon in the Universe, 1996's Shack-man, and the EP Bubblehouse.
One of the factors that has helped Medeski Martin and Wood be such a successful touring and recording act in a world that doesn't give jazz it's just due has been their desire to collaborate. 1998's Combustication was a project that MMW did in part with DJ Logic. While that would look to be an odd pairing at the surface, MMW blended very well with DJ Logic. Their partnership included some limited recording (DJ Logic only appears on a handful of songs) and live performances. Combustication also went on to spawn a remix album, which again is something that isn't typical at all for a jazz band. The band went out of their way to collaborate with a variety of other artists, including Phish and guitarist John Scofield.
In 2000, the band released it's first live album, the all-acoustic Tonic.The Dropper followed later that year, and was a studio collection that covered plenty of ground outside of MMW's jazz roots. They released Electric Tonic on their own Indirecto Records label in 2001, which is a completely improvisational jazz performance. The band brought in multiple other musicians and guests, including the legendary Col. Bruce Hampton, for the eclectic Unvisible. Their final Blue Note album, 2004's End of the World Party (Just in Case) was their most straightforward album for Blue Note, with fewer guests and other genres.
After finishing up their contract for Blue Note, the band began releasing their work primarily on their Indirecto Records label. They started out by making a splash with Out Louder, an album recorded with guitarist John Scofield. MMW had recorded with Scofield on the 1998 John Scofield album A Go Go, but Out Louder was a true four-person collaborative effort. They recorded Let's Go Everywhere, a children's album, and then Zaebos: Book of Angels Vol. 11, which was part of a series of albums composed by John Zorn. Their latest project, The Radiolarian Series, was a three-album series that was written on the road before being recorded and released. The albums were released between September 2008 and August 2009, with a box set of all three albums to be released in November.
Along with their prolific recording career, the band has built up a strong reputation as a touring act. Their shows are often very improvisational, and the band has been known to play extended sets. They've been a staple both large and small summer festivals for the past decade and have developed a strong following among the jam band community.
Medeski Martin and Wood hasn't developed this following through shear talent. Obviously, they are an extremely talented trio, but there's more to the band than that. Their focus on experimentation and collaboration with artists from other genres helps set them apart. The drum work of Billy Martin as a real focus as opposed to simply the backbeat of the band also helps differentiate MMW from much of the rest of the jazz world. While jazz might not be everyone's cup of tea, Medeski Martin and Wood without a doubt deserve the respect of anyone who appreciates music, and they're a great intro to jazz if you're looking for something new and different.
Lots of MMW this week, along with some MSMW. We'll start out with "Big Time" from 2007
Here's the band featuring DJ Logic from 1999
And I promised my best friend Steve (a metalhead who was telling me about this band about 8 years ago) that I'd find this. Here's Latin Shuffle from 2001. Due to the length it's broken up into 2 parts, but oh well.
And I needed to add a couple of MMW clips with John Scofield, Here's "Chank"
And here's "A Go Go" from 2007
A couple of new things this week. Here's Yonder Mountain String Band with Danny Barnes from a week ago covering "Crazy Train."
And, finally, I'll throw in some Assembly of Dust from 2002. Here's "Tavern Walker"
More Phish Festival 8 news
I may not be including Phish in the videos this week, but we're just a week out from Festival 8, so I couldn't let the boys from Vermont go entirely. Rumors are flying about Festival 8, and I'll just cover a few. First off, a number of albums were killed off this past week, bringing the remaining candidates down to 29. The remaining candidates are:
AC/DC | Back In Black
Black Sabbath | Paranoid
Boston | Boston
Brian Eno | Before And After Science
Bruce Springsteen | Born To Run
Chicago | The Chicago Transit Authority
David Bowie | Hunky Dory
David Bowie | Ziggy Stardust
Elton John | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Frank Zappa | Apostrophe
Genesis | The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Jimi Hendrix | Electric Ladyland
King Crimson | Larks' Tongues In Aspic
Led Zeppelin | Zeppelin I
MGMT | Oracular Spectacular
Michael Jackson | Thiller
Minutemen | Double Nickels On The Dime
Modern Lovers | The Modern Lovers
Nirvana | Nevermind
Pink Floyd | The Wall
Prince | Purple Rain
Radiohead | Kid A
Rolling Stones | Exile on Main Street
Rolling Stones | Sticky Fingers
T.Rex | Electric Warrior
Television | Marquee Moon
The Clash | London Calling
Van Morrison | Astral Weeks
Yes | The Yes Album
2 Stones albums, Thriller and Zappa are all still alive. On this front, there are rumors spreading that the 8 campgrounds at the site will be named for the final 8 albums and that the band will be potentially playing tracks off of each of the last 8 albums at the respective campsites. Other rumors have the real album being Alice Cooper's Killer, and that album would be killing off the other 99 albums. Another rumor has the 100th album as The Rolling Stone's Let it Bleed
Other rumors have the festival being filmed in 3-D, most likely for a later theatrical release. Finally, there's been a bunch of speculation about what sort of art exhibits to expect. Candidates include sculptures made of helium-filled balloons with LED lights, a mirage-like exhibit that features glowing colors that respond to sound, and a variety of metal sculptures.
Finally, if you still want to go to Festival 8 but can't get a ticket, you can still volunteer for WET (work exchange team) and get in. WET members get free admission and camping in exchange for 18 hours of work throughout the festival. If you're interested, apply now!
Dave Matthews Band announces European dates
Sadly, it looks like the Dave and Tim tour that I was hoping for won't happen. Instead, the Dave Matthews band will open 2010 with a month long tour of Europe. The band will open on February 13 in Sweden and head through the rest of Europe through mid-March. Their last European tour was a success, so they may be trying to capitalize on that.
February 13 Stockholm, Sweden—Arenan
February 14 Copenhagen, Denmark—Falconer Theatre
February 16 Hamburg, Ger.—Congress Center Hamburg Hall 1
February 17 Berlin, Germany—Tempodrom
February 19 Vienna, Austria—Gasometer
February 20 Munich, Germany—Zenith
February 22 Milan, Italy—Palasharp
February 23 Rome, Italy—Palalottomatica
February 25 Padova, Italy—Palasport San Lazarro
February 28 Cologne, Germany—Palladium
March 1 Antwerp, Belgium—Lotto Arena
March 3 Amsterdam, Netherlands—Heineken Music Hall
March 4 Frankfurt, Germany—Jahrhunderthalle
March 6 London, England—O2 Arena
March 7 Manchester, England—Apollo Theatre
March 9 Dublin, Ireland—O2 Arena
March 11 Glasgow, Scotland—Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
March 12 Birmingham, England—O2 Academy – Birmingham
Lineup for Warren Haynes Christmas Jam Announced
The 21st Annual Christmas Jam will be held on December 12 in Asheville North Carolina. Warren Haynes has put together a fabulous lineup for this year. Obviously Haynes and Gov't Mule will be on the bill, but they'll be joined by moe., Ani DiFranco, Counting Crowes, along with more bands yet to be announced. There will also be a "pre-jam" on the 11th. Proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity, and tickets go on sale Tuesday.
Flaming Lips to cover Dark Side of the Moon
As The Flaming Lips come off their most recent release Embryonic, they've already announced their next project, a guest-heavy version of the legendary Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon. Few details are out yet, but the band recently performed "Eclipse" at a radio station. Check it out and let me know what you think.
String Cheese streams Trick or Treat
The String Cheese Incident will be releasing Trick or Treat on October 27, but the 2-disc version of the album is streaming at their website. The album is available as a 2-disc best of, a double vinyl set, or a 9-disc box set that includes every "Hulaween" show the band has ever played.
Leftover Salmon head home
As part of their 20th anniversary celebration, Leftover Salmon will play The Eldo in Crested Butte, CO. The Eldo was the location for the first ever Leftover Salmon show, on Dec. 31 1989. The band will then head to the Boulder Theater for shows on the 30th and the 31st. The Emmitt-Nershi band will open the show on the 30th, while Salmon will play a full 3 sets on the 31st. There will also be a Salmon and Friends show on January 2 at the Ogden Theater in Denver. No word yet who the "friends" are.
Les Claypool returns to U.S. for New Years
Bassist extraordinaire Les Claypool has already announced a number of overseas dates, but he'll be returning to San Francisco for a show at The Fillmore for New Years Eve. Other than that date, he'll be in Australia throughout December. After that, he heads over to Europe in March for a number of dates leading up to Jam at the Dam in Amsterdam, March 21-23.
Thanks again for stopping by this week to check out the column. It feels really good to be writing about something that's not Phish. Of course, with Festival 8 coming up, I'm not going to be able to avoid their videos for much longer, but I need a bit of a break. I'll be back next week with something different, and, until then, Jam On!
