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Jazz Articles about John Medeski
Jeff Cosgrove/John Medeski/Jeff Lederer: History Gets Ahead of the Story
by Troy Dostert
As he has been one of the most influential and prolific musicians in the jazz avant-garde since the 1980s, it is surprising that bassist William Parker hasn't gotten more credit as a composer. Perhaps due in part to the sheer volume of his recordings--including every imaginable context, from solo bass to small/medium-sized groups to big-band outings--it can be hard to keep up with his work, making it almost inevitable that some of his music gets lost in the shuffle, its ...
Continue ReadingMedeski, Martin and Wood: A Retro Phenomenon for the New Millenium
by Mike Brannon
From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in April 1999. No, they're not a law firm, and though they're not yet a household word either, MMW is a trio of formidable sonic integrity and groove. 'Fronted' by Hammond B-3 organist John Medeski, the trio has been described as everything from “acoustic funk" and “acid jazz" to “Sanford and Sun Ra" (my favorite). The reality is that this equal collaboration between Medeski, acoustic/electric bassist, ...
Continue ReadingWill Bernard: Freelance Subversives
by Doug Collette
A native Californian currently headquartered in Brooklyn, Will Bernard's geographical touchpoints mirror the expanse of solo and collaborative projects to which he's contributed over the course of his career. Just a few of the names appearing in his discography are also indicative of the guitarist's broadly eclectic approach: eccentric singer/composer Tom Waits, drummer extraordinaire Stanton Moore and guitar wunderkind Charlie Hunter. And dating back to Will's membership with the latter in T.J. Kirk (with drummer Scott Amendola), there's been a ...
Continue Reading2019 Starts with a Jazz Blast! Part 2
by Ludovico Granvassu
Last week we dived deep in some of the best new releases of 2019. Two hours were not enough so this week we continue our quest for fascinating new jazz out there... and we'll branch out a bit going into releases that came out at the end of 2018 as well. Many of the albums we're going to listen to are debut albums and quite a few of them are from abroad, especially from the prolific Italian scene. Check for ...
Continue ReadingJohn Medeski: John Medeski's Mad Skillet
by Doug Collette
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 ...
Continue ReadingJohn Medeski: A Different Time
by Doug Collette
John Medeski's A Different Time certainly lives up to its title. It is both everything and nothing like what might be expected from a musician whose stock in trade is a concerted effort to avoid the predictable, as a charter member of Medeski Martin & Wood, in the course of his many live solo efforts and in group settings with guitarists Will Bernard and David Fuczynski or last year's tribute to Tony Williams, Spectrum Road.As such this solo ...
Continue ReadingJohn Medeski: A Different Time
by Dan Bilawsky
Organ ace John Medeski dons the mask of a left-leaning jazzer teetering on the brink of the jam band precipice when he appears with his co-lead super trio, Medeski, Martin & Wood (MMW), or in any number of other contexts, but that's his public face; his private pianistic side is on display on the aptly title A Different Time. Medeski returns to his alone-at-the-piano roots here, looking back to a time when intimate, measured self-expression reigned supreme ...
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