Medeski Martin & Wood

Fact Sheet

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Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) are a jazz trio formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski (piano, organ), Billy Martin (drums, percussion) and Chris Wood (double bass, bass guitar).

Originally a rather straightforward acoustic jazz trio, Medeski quickly added Hammond Organ when the difficulties of touring with a good piano became apparent. This more soul jazz oriented direction led to the incorporation of other musical genres: funk, hip hop and trip hop (DJ Logic is a frequent collaborator) and free jazz, recording with longtime Sun Ra saxophone player Marshall Allen. Medeski has utilized a number of keyboard instruments: mellotron, melodica, clavinet and more.

Performing on John Scofield's 1997 album A Go Go brought the band significant exposure, as did appearing at John Zorn's New Music Festival at Tonic, NYC. MMW were quickly accepted by the so-called jam band touring circuit, where their funky, danceable and often very long songs appealed to audiences familiar with Phish, the Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers and other adventurous, jazz-influenced improvising groups.

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