Medeski, Martin, & Wood

(requested by ME! - because I really dig these guys)

[NOTE: There is no Musical Theory post this week, instead find a contribution from Bonfire Jones, on John McLaughlin, below]

Link (official site):
http://www.medeskimartinandwood.com/

Name: Medeski, Martin, & Wood
Members: John Medeski, Billy Martin, Chris Wood
Born: 1991 in New York

A little bit on the members:
John Medeski is the keyboardist in the trio, playing everything from the Hammond B3, to mellotron, melodica, clavinet, and whatever else takes his fancy. At the performances he can be seen surrounded by a plethera of keyboard instruments, and he'll use every single one of them. John was adopted at birth by the Medeski family, Mrs. Medeski an overacheiver and Mr. Medeski who was in the furniture business. It is said that his mother started to teach John to read before he could even speak, but it was his father that started him on the piano, teaching him basic chord changes and standards. At 9 years old, John had his first experience in "the zone". The state of mind that musicians refer to as "the zone" is a kind of meditative state. You are perfectly calm, and can watch yourself play the instrument as if your body moves of it's own free will and your mind can simply sit back and relax. Perhaps this is a kind of intense physical memory which just takes over, but more likely the brain is just operating at a higher than usual level. Like many musicians with this kind of talent, John found it hard to do anything else and worked obsessively. So obsessively, in fact, that he gave himself the tendonitis that almost ended his career. (This is a danger for any musician, so be forewarned: if you over-practice your career could end before you even start!) Through Hoshino therapy, John was able to reteach himself how to use his body, using a balance of mental, physical, and spiritual cleansing. Good thing too, as this allowed him to finish his musical schooling, and land "some strange Boston gig" where he would meet Chris Wood.

Billy Martin was the unofficial leader of the group from very early on. He booked the gigs, dealt with the press, the making of records, the hunting down of paycheques, and oh yes, he is the band's drummer. Billy's first 11 years of his life were spent in New York's Washington Height's neighbourhood, with his parents and two older brothers. His father was a classical violinist, his mother a Radio City rockette, so Billy was exposed to music early in his life just as John was. When Billy was 11, his family moved to New Jersey. Besides the impact it had on Billy's social life, the move was critical as it allowed Billy to discover one of his older brother's drumkits when it was being packed. Billy set the drumkit up at home and immediately set out playing along to Zappa, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, and other such bands. By grade 10, Billy was playing in the school Jazz band, and jamming with older kids in the evenings. He chose to joing the union in New York City and play every gig he could get hired for. (This is the way to do it. If you are a pipe-fitter you join a union, if you are a brick-layer you join the union, if you are serious about being a musician, join the union. And never say no to a gig!) It was playing in New York that John Medeski and Chris Wood found him in 1991, and a trio was born.

Last we come to the bass player for the group, Chris Wood. I'm going to take this opportunity to call Chris Wood "the Pete Townshend of the bass". His live performance is always electric, vibrant, and athletic. Unlike John and Billy who hide behind a wide assortment of musical paraphenalia, Chris is out in center stage dancing around, tossing his bass, and generally being the center of attention. Chris could just as easily be a rock and roll player as a Jazz man, and he sure doesn't subscribe to the "cool jazz" stiff upper lip. (Editorial Note: I've seen them perform live quite a few times, and the guy is ONE HELL of a stage presence. Wow! ...And he's cute too.) When asked about being the center stage bridge between the chord chair and rhythm, Chris quoted from the legendary Spinal Tap: "I'm very fortunate to have two visionaries, fire and ice, on either side of me... I'm the luke warm middle." Obviously, the man also has a sense of humor. Born in Pasadena, California, Chris is a west-coast boy. His family moved to Colorado when Chris was six, and there he grew up learning to play tennis, drawing, and just doing "normal kid stuff". He dabbled in music from a very young age, playing piano and clarinet, but bass was where it all started for him. Like John, Chris had a "zone" moment which he attributes to both his love of music and a sincere desire to excel at something, anything. Chris began jamming with groups at every chance he got, and after graduating took a year off to work on his craft. Chris then moved to Boston and enrolled in the New England Conservatory of music, which he dropped out of after one semester having been given too many good gigs and skipped too many classes. One of these gigs was the "weird" one, where he met John.

Tone, Time, and Space:
After 1991, the band was playing around New York with quite a bit of success, but only after touring with as the opening act for a mainstream band in 1995, did they really hit "the bigtime". (See this week's quiz question.) This performance gave Medeski, Martin, & Wood it's introduction into the 'Jam Band' genre. Jam Band's are defined by their concerts being largely improvised, such as Phish, Cream, and The Grateful Dead. These concerts are always interesting, "never played the same way once" as I've heard said. The music has to be highly conversational, and the players have to be intelligent, as it's not an easy genre to play in. Most Jazz Jam Bands work from a lead sheet, which provides each musician with the chord changes, they vary the tempo, feel, and voicings. However, as any true Jam fan will attest, the musicians will quickly deviate from the original "road plan", as it were, if they are comfortable enough playing with each other. This makes each concert a unique experience, with some very cool new ideas rising at each performance. (It should be noted, there are always a couple of "whoops, that didn't work" moments as well.) Overall, Jam Band performances tend to be just as much an intellectual, and spiritual in many cases, experience for the listener as it is for the musician. Where many fans may like to go to a concert and hear their favorite bands play their favorite songs the way they know them from the recordings (so they can sing along and hold lighters aloft etc.), it is really a marvelous experience to hear truly talented musicians create, emote, improvise, and talk to eachother on stage. It's like musical sex. Does that make us voyeurs?

Here are a couple of samples from their Uninvisible album (2002), which has been burning out the battery on my iPod lately, and inspired this article. Enjoy!

Your Name Is Snake Anthony

Nocturnal Transmission

Quiz Question:
Who was it that helped Medeski, Martin, & Wood get their big break in 1995? He stated their music made him "drive too fast". (Justin should be able to get this one! :) )

[P.S. - I did promise an article on Buckethead, but I'm currently trying to work out some video for that article. It's still on my mind, I haven't forgotten, but I'm trying to get some cool media for everyone. He doesn't really qualify as "Jazz" per se... but I'm sure we could take a tiny break for one article somewhere down the road.]