Jazz Articles about John Medeski

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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 ...

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John Medeski & Lee Shaw: Together Again: Live At The Egg

by Bruce Lindsay
February 15, 2011

John Medeski is one of the jazz world's best-known and most accomplished keyboard players--but he had to begin learning jazz somewhere. That somewhere was with pianist, composer and teacher Lee Shaw, in late '70s Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Over 30 years later, as the title of their album makes plain, Medeski and Shaw are Together Again: Live At The Egg on a joyously musical date from the Albany, New York venue recorded on April 5, 2009. It's a date made possible ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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John Medeski: Mad Science

by Graham L. Flanagan
January 1, 2010

The sight of John Medeski performing on stage--his brow furrowed by intense concentration--can be intimidating. Armed with an arsenal of instruments both traditional and unconventional, he concocts sonic combinations most listeners would never have otherwise conceived. It's obvious that he's there to work--not play. Like a mad scientist who's been stuck in his lab for months, Medeski proudly shows off the results of his experiments, making the listener sit up and take notice...perhaps even notes. The doctor is in session.

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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 ...

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Will Bernard: Blue Plate Special

by Doug Collette
December 21, 2008

Will Bernard's Blue Plate Special features a veritable supergroup of modern jazz, whose diverse talents on their respective instruments complements their collective experience and, perhaps more importantly, the range of material supplied by the bandleader. On paper, it looks too good to work, but work it does and splendidly at that.

“Baby Goats" may sound, at first, like a vintage variation on composer John Medeski's work with Medeski, Martin and Wood, but as Stanton Moore's syncopation deepens and ...