Jazz Articles

John Medeski: John Medeski's Mad Skillet

by Doug Collette
December 8, 2018

Steeped in, but hardly a slave to, the milieu of the Crescent City, John Medeski (of Medeski, Martin & Wood fame) recorded in The Big Easy with sousaphonist Kirk Joseph and drummer Terence Higgins (both natives of New Orleans and members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band), along with guitarist Will Bernard, one of the unsung heroes of modern jazz. On the opening track titled “Man About Town," as with the like-minded closer book-ending the nine tracks, “The Heart of ...

Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood: Juice

by Troy Collins
September 9, 2014

For over two decades, keyboardist John Medeski, percussionist Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood's abiding fascination with the endless possibilities of groove-based music has taken them from intimate jazz clubs to outdoor festival stages. Their eclectic efforts have included a number of high-profile collaborations; the most prolific and successful has been with esteemed guitarist John Scofield. Following the concert performances issued as In Case the World Changes Its Mind (Indirecto, 2011), Juice is their fourth album together since 1998's pace ...

Medeski, Martin & Wood: Free Magic: Live

by Mark Corroto
October 25, 2012

Free Magic: Live is the first release of by trio Medeski Martin & Wood from its third decade of existence. Maybe I should repeat that. This disc is by a jazz band that has remained intact for more than 21 years. Like a family, the trio has born musical genres, specifically the infamous jamband phenomena, matured, and branched out from electric to eclectic.Perhaps MMW's greatest contribution to modern jazz was its DIY touring philosophy. Like punk bands of ...

Medeski, Martin & Wood: 20

by Doug Collette
June 13, 2012

Medeski, Martin & Wood20Indirecto Records2012In an ongoing celebration of its twentieth anniversary, Medeski Martin & Wood released twenty original recordings in digital form over the course of 2011. Sequenced in the order in which the tracks were released, the collection as a whole flows with the expert pacing of an MMW performance and, in truth, with much the same artful pacing as their best studio albums, such as Combustication (Blue Note, 1999).

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood: In Case The World Changes Its Mind

by Doug Collette
December 14, 2011

In Case the World Changes Its Mind reaffirms the chemistry at the heart of the collaboration between nouveau-jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood and guitarist extraordinaire, John Scofield. Hearing this live recording reveals the delicate, almost precarious, balance of factors that put them finely in tune with each other. Recorded on the 2006 tour to promote the foursome's studio outing Out Louder (Indirecto, 2006), the concert piece demonstrates how the four-man unit functions with judicious serendipity when playing ...

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood: In Case The World Changes Its Mind

by John Kelman
November 1, 2011

With significant pressure on artists to look for new territory to mine and new collaborations to explore, it's always great to see those that have worked well kept as ongoing concerns, like guitarist John Scofield's first-encounter with jam band darlings Medeski, Martin & Wood on the superb A Go Go (Verve, 1998). The now-named Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood still reconvenes occasionally, with its follow-up, Out Louder (Indirecto, 2006), a more free-wheeling alternative to its predecessor's focus on Scofield's particularly ...

Medeski, Martin and Wood: Radiolarians - The Evolutionary Set

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
March 13, 2010

Medeski Martin & WoodRadiolarians: The Evolutionary SetIndirecto Records2009 In an age when jazz is usually driven by individuals and fleeting lineups, the ability of Medeski, Martin and Wood (MMW) to sustain and reinvigorate their collective creativity for nearly 20 years is astounding. Never risk-averse--whether jamming with turntablists or flouting expectations with an all-acoustic record and tour--they've kept the music fresh for themselves and their listeners. So it wasn't ...

Medeski, Martin & Wood: Radiolarians - The Evolutionary Set

by Doug Collette
January 3, 2010

Medeski Martin & WoodRadiolarians: The Evolutionary SetIndirecto Records2009 Medeski, Martin & Wood is always going a little further, whether it's in the course of a live performance, a studio recording or the aesthetics of its music. Accordingly, Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set is both metaphor for the group's restless ambition and a tangible product of it. This box set of five CDs, a double set of vinyl LPs and a ...

Medeski, Martin & Wood: Radiolarians - The Evolutionary Set

by John Kelman
December 28, 2009

Released over the last year, Medeski, Martin & Wood's three-part Radiolarians series bucked the longstanding and conventional trend of writing > recording > touring. Touring material before documenting it on record isn't exactly new, but few if any artists have done so with such an extensive repertoire--three hours of new material, all taken on the road and honed before MMW ever set foot in a recording studio to lay the tracks down. That there's such a tremendous benefit ...

Medeski Martin & Wood: Medeski Martin & Wood: Radiolarians III

by Doug Collette
August 16, 2009

Bonded as if in a purposeful and passionate quest to unite the opposites of discipline and spontaneity, the Zen masters of modern jazz known as Medeski, Martin & Wood have now completed The Radiolarians Series, an eighteen-month endeavor in which the trio composed new original material, embarked on tour to road test it, and then immediately sequestered themselves in to the recording studio to capture its distilled essence.

The third and final installment begins simply enough with “Chantes de ...