Medeski

Medeski Martin & Wood (or MMW) is an American jazz trio formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards and piano, Billy Martin on drums and percussion, and Chris Wood on double bass and bass guitar. The band draws on influences from a number of musical traditions, from funk to Hip Hop, and is known for an unconventional style sometimes described as "avant-groove". MMW has found moderate mainstream success—often working with noted guitarist John Scofield—and touring on the jam band circuit.

Sex Mob meets Medeski - Live In Willisau 2006 (2009) {Thirsty Ear THI 57189.2}
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© 2009 Thirsty Ear Recordings | THI 57189.2
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Contemporary Jazz / Slide Trumpet / Organ

After about a decade of issuing recordings, Sex Mob finally released an album in their natural element: live. The albums are great, no doubt about that, but anyone who has seen Sex Mob in action knows that's where they really thrive. It's also a nice contrast since the studio albums all employ at least a bit of studio production tricks (courtesy of Scotty Hard) but that can't be done for a real live album. So here they are in Switzerland, at the Willisau Jazz Festival in 2006 with old friend John Medeski sitting in on keyboards.

Medeski Martin & Wood - Radiolarians. The Evolutionary Set (2009) [5CD] {Indirecto Records}
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© 2009 Indirecto Records | IR10
Jazz / Jam / Jazz Funk / Avant-Garde Jazz

Medeski Martin & Wood culminate their 2-year Radiolarian Series with a comprehensive box set of material entitled Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set, which Indirecto Records will release on November 24th 2009. The box set will include: Radiolarians I, II and III complete with bonus tracks, a 10 track disc of remixed music, a previously unreleased 70 minute live album, a double vinyl LP set consisting of highlights from the three Radiolarians albums, plus a DVD feature film entitled Fly In A Bottle directed by Billy Martin. All of the material contained in the box was written and performed by MMW specifically for The Radiolarian Series.

It's hard to believe that after more than two decades together playing in all sorts of sonic configurations, Medeski, Martin & Wood haven't released an acoustic trio album since 2000's Tonic. Free Magic remedies that. The set was recorded during their 2007 acoustic tour. There are five tunes in this hour-plus set; four are originals. Chris Wood's "Doppler" (a studio version appeared on 20 [available on iTunes]) commences as a rhythmic improv with Billy Martin playing balafon (an African cousin to the xylophone) with John Medeski on a toy piano and a melodica, and Wood bowing his upright. The pace gradually increases before a rhythmically repetitive motif introduces itself. After vamping on for a minute, the track shifts gears and becomes a jumping, funky, soul-jazz piano trio tune that suggests, in equal parts, the Impulse-era trios of Ahmad Jamal, and Les McCann's and Ramsey Lewis' mid-'60s groove fests.

The first officially released live album by Medeski, Martin & Wood, as well as their first acoustic recording since their debut, Tonic captures the best of several 1999 performances at the small New York City club of the same name. The group's playing is a nice mix of outside, bop, and funky grooves, but the difference here is that Medeski is unable to rely on the electric organ to produce effects. That often means his lines are busier and more staccato than usual, and, especially on "Invocation" and "Thaw," he takes spirited flights into the avant-garde with chaotic yet controlled flurries of notes. The group's rhythmic interplay, too, becomes more important in this context, with the grooves shifting around often enough to give the musicians more to react to.