Medeski, Martin & Wood
(Copyright © 2006 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
Krentz Ratings:
Notes From the Underground (1992), 7.5/10
It's a Jungle in Here (1993), 5.5/10
Friday Afternoon in the Universe (1994), 7/10
Shack Man (1996), 5.5/10
Farmer's Reserve (1997), 6.5/10
Combustication (1998), 6/10
The Dropper (2000), 6/10
Uninvisible (2001), 6/10
The Road to Jajouka (2013), 5.5/10
Omnisphere (2015), 6/10
Links:

In the 1990s the New York scene of groove-based jazz was dominated by Medeski, Martin & Wood: keyboardist John Medeski, bassist Chris Wood and drummer Billy Martin, all of them white. The acoustic Notes From the Underground (january 1992), on which Medeski played a grand piano and penned the 13-minute Querencia, achieved an inspired fusion of jazz tradition with funky and hip-hoppish rhythms.

The trio also penned Hermeto's Daydream, The Saint, La Garonne, Uncle Chubb, Rebirth, Otis, besides an eight-minute cover of Wayne Shorter's United and an eight-minute cover of Duke Ellington's Caravan.

But the highlights of the electric and commercial It's a Jungle in Here (august 1993) were Afro-funk and reggae covers. They settled on a compromise on Friday Afternoon In The Universe (july 1994), that was basically an album of old-fashioned soul-jazz with the neurotic accent of the 1990s (The Lover, We're So Happy). They plunged into late-night lounge-music with the languid Shack Man (1996), but resurrected with Farmer's Reserve (february 1997), a set of free improvisations, with Combustication (1998), featuring collaborations with turntablist Jason "DJ Logic" Kibler (Sugar Craft, Start Stop, Church of Logic) as well as acoustic pieces (Latin Shuffle), with the dense soundscape of The Dropper (2000), featuring cellist Jane Scarpantoni and guitarist Marc Ribot, and with the even more abstract Uninvisible (2001), enhanced with horns and turntables.

End of the World Party (2004) and Out Louder (january 2006), a collaboration with guitarist John Scofield, veered again towards a more commercial format.

The trilogy "Radiolarians" consists of Radiolarian I (february 2008), II (july 2008) and III (november 2008).

Together Again - Live At The Egg, (april 2009) documents a session between pianists Lee Shaw and John Medeski with bassist Rich Syracuse and drummer Jeff Siegel.

Live performances by keyboardist John Medeski, guitarist John Scofield, bassist Bill Martin, and drummer Chris Wood were collected on the double-disc In Case The World Changes Its Mind (2006) and on the double-disc Out Louder (2006).

Free Magic (2012) documents their first-ever acoustic tour in 2007.

Billy Martin formed Wicked Knee with Steven Bernstein (trumpets), Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), Marcus Rojas (tuba) and Shelley Hirsch (vocals), documented on the EP Wicked Knee (Amulet, 2011) and on Heels Over Head (2013). Martin also recorded Shimmy (2013), a collaboration with keyboardist Wil Blades.

John Medeski's A Different Time (2013) was a solo piano recording.

The Road To Jajouka (2013) features music by Ornette Coleman and John Zorn (alto saxes), Marc Ribot (banjo), Lee Ranaldo (guitar), John Medeski (Hammond organ), Bill Laswell and Chris Wood (basses), Billy Martin and Mickey Hart (drums) along with the Master Musicians of Jajouka from Morocco.

Medeski, drummer Billy Martin & bassist Chris Wood, and guitarist Nels Cline recorded the live improvisations of Woodstock Sessions 2 (august 2013).

Simulacrum (december 2014), composed by John Zorn, inaugurated an organ trio with Cleric's Matt Hollenberg and Kenny Grohowski.

Mad Skillet (Indirecto, 2018) documents a line-up with Will Bernard (guitar), Kirk Joseph (sousaphone), Terence Higgins (drums), Gilbert Elorreaga (trumpet), Dan Bechdolt (tenor sax), Mark Gonzales (trombone, horn arrangment), Josh Levy (baritone sax) and Jonathan Doyle (bass sax).

Medeski, Martin & Wood performed Omnisphere (february 2015) with the acoustic ensemble Alarm Will Sound, notably Medeski's 20-minute Eye On Ra.

Crawlspace (january 2021) contains two lengthy compositions for "synthesizers, piano and pedals": Movement I and Movement II .

(Translation by/ Tradotto da Alessandro Rusignuolo)

Nel 1990 la scena newyorkese del groove-jazz è stata dominata da Medeski, Martin & Wood: il tastierista John Medeski, il bassista Chris Wood e il batterista Billy Martin, tutti bianchi.

L'acustico Notes From the Underground (gennaio 1992), nel quale Medeski suona un pianoforte a coda e scrive la lunga Querencia, ha raggiunto un'ispirata  fusione di tradizione jazz con ritmi funky e hip-hoppish. Ma i momenti salienti dell'elettrico e commerciale It's a Jungle in Here (agosto 1993) sono decisamente afro-funk con tappeti reggae. Arrivano quindi ad un compromesso con Friday Afternoon In The Universe (luglio 1994), che è fondamentalmente un album di vecchio stile soul-jazz con l'accento ossessivo tipico degli anni 90 (The Lover, We're So Happy). Si cimentano poi in una sorta di lounge-music tipica delle ore piccole con l'apatico Shack Man (1996), riprendendosi però con Farmer's Reserve (febbraio 1997), sostenuto da una serie di improvvisazioni libere e con Combustication (1998), grazie a collaborazioni con il tecnico e acrobatico Jason "DJ Logic" Kibler così come grazie a pezzi acustici quale Latin Shuffle e con il denso paesaggio sonoro di The Dropper (2000), dove è presente la violoncellista Jane Scarpantoni e il chitarrista Marc Ribot, ma ancor di più con l'astratto Uninvisible (2001), arricchito da corni e giradischi.

End of the World Party (2004) e Out Louder (gennaio 2006), che vedono la collaborazione del chitarrista John Scofield, sono orientati nuovamente verso un concept più commerciale.

 

La trilogia "Radiolarians" si compone di Radiolarian I (febbraio 2008), II (luglio 2008) e III (novembre 2008).

 

Together Again - Live At The Egg, (aprile 2009) documenta una sessione tra i pianisti Lee Shaw e John Medeski, con il bassista Rich Siracusa e il batterista Jeff Siegel.

 

Nel doppio album In Case The World Changes Its Mind (2006) sono state riunite alcune esibizioni dal vivo del tastierista John Medeski con il chitarrista John Scofield, il batterista Billy Martin e il bassista Chris Wood così come sull'altro doppio Out Louder (2006).

 

Free Magic (2012) testimonia la loro prima esibizione acustica in un tour del 2007.

 

Billy Martin fonda il gruppo Wicked Knee con Steven Bernstein (tromba), Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), Marcus Rojas (tuba) e Shelley Hirsch (voce), dando vita all'EP omonimo (Amulet, 2011) e a Heels Over Head (2013). Martin ha registrato anche Shimmy (2013), con la partecipazione del tastierista Wil Blades.

 

L'album A Different Time di John Medeski (2013) è una performance di piano solo.

 

The Road To Jajouka (2013) comprende le musiche di Ornette Coleman e John Zorn (sax contralto), Marc Ribot (banjo), Lee Ranaldo (chitarra), John Medeski (organo Hammond), Bill Laswell e Chris Wood (bassi), Billy Martin e Mickey Hart (batteria) insieme con i Master Musicians of Jajouka del Marocco.

 

Medeski, il batterista Billy Martin, il bassista Chris Wood e il chitarrista Nels Cline, registrano in seguito delle improvvisazioni dal vivo nell'album Woodstock Sessions 2 (agosto 2013).

 

Simulacrum (dicembre 2014), le cui composizioni sono di John Zorn, inaugura un organ-trio con Matt Hollenberg dei Cleric di Philadelphia, Kenny Grohowski degli Abraxas e John Medeski.

(Copyright © 2006 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
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