For the three musical journeymen known as Medeski Martin & Wood, music is very much like life. It is a journey, an adventure, a road to be traveled. It has no finite destination, but rather endless possibilities. The future is filled with new audiences to capture, new music to discover, and inventive ways to expand upon 17 years of collaborative improvisation and composition.
On January 8, the trio released Let’s Go Everywhere (Little Monster), a collection of original and classic songs recorded especially for children. Created in the band’s trademark democratic spirit, the songs began as little more than bits and pieces of ideas and musical themes that were fleshed out in the studio by keyboard player John Medeski, percussionist Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood.
Let’s Go Everywhere includes the trio’s decidedly eclectic takes on the children’s song “Pat A Cake†and the traditional “All Around the Kitchen,†augmented by an ensemble of children banging on pots and pans. Featured are the vocals of Wood and Martin’s children, Nissa and Dakota, along with classmates and friends, and the vocals and lyrics of Medeski’s childhood friend Tim Ingham. Its intended audience may be the younger set, but Let’s Go Everywhere never dilutes Medeski Martin & Wood’s sophisticated creativity, giving it appeal not only for children but also for the most discerning grown-up ears.
And that’s just the beginning. 2008 will see the recording of not one but three sets of new, yet-to-be composed Medeski Martin & Wood music. These projects, to be released on the trio’s own Indirecto Records imprint, will see the musicians reinvent the traditional process of writing, recording, and then touring.
Medeski Martin & Wood will first go into the studio for no more than a week to write and rehearse new material, then go directly on the road for a two-week tour in a specific region of the United States. During this run, they will play only the new pieces of music that were written in the studio (and whatever they come up with on the road). The compositions will continually develop on stage in a fully collaborative, spontaneous manner, with the added excitement and energy that can only come from playing for a live audience.
Immediately after the two week run, the trio will enter the studio once again to record the freshly developed material, thereby bringing the creative process full circle. Medeski Martin & Wood will then repeat the process a second time, in a different geographic area, rehearsing more new material and then embarking once again on a two-week tour and subsequent recording session. Later in the year, the process will be repeated a third time, completing the trilogy.
The first run of dates will be held exclusively at venues in the northeast, with the second and third to be held at yet-to-be determined regions in North America (the second and third runs may include guest collaborators). Therefore, the two-week tours will present an exclusive opportunity for fans attending the shows, as those will be the only dates where all of the material that will end up on the subsequent recording will be played in full. A few gems will make it into the band’s festival dates later this year, their sets will include the cream of the material created developed in the process.
Ambitious? Sure. But Medeski Martin & Wood have always made music based upon what feels right at the time, rather than upon a perceived “right†way to do things. Since their earliest days playing in Brooklyn, New York, and as part of the exciting New York City downtown scene of the early 1990s, the trio’s intent has always been to create music that expresses each member’s individuality, while cultivating a group sound that encompasses all forms of music and cultural influence.
In 2006 the trio launched their own imprint, Indirecto Records, allowing them to release their own music, their own way. The first Indirecto release was Out Louder (2006), a four-way collaborative effort with guitarist John Scofield. Chris Wood frequently performs as one half of The Wood Brothers, a folk and blues duo with his guitarist-singer-brother Oliver. Billy Martin runs his own record label, releasing recordings that focus on percussion. He published a percussion instruction book that features a new form of notation that he designed himself. John Medeski is involved in numerous musical endeavors as both a producer and musician. He scored the acclaimed film Day on Fire, and lent his production skills to the upcoming Wood Brothers album Loaded to be released in April year.
For more information about Medeski Martin & Wood, visit www.mmw.net. For information on “Let’s Go Everywhere,†visit the band’s new myspace page, www.myspace.com/letsgoeverywhere.
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