Medeski Martin & Wood, or MMW, is a jazz trio originally formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums and percussion, and Chris Wood on double bass and bass guitar.Medeski Martin & Wood was initially an acoustic jazz trio, but Medeski quickly added a Hammond organ when the difficulties of touring with a piano became apparent. This more soul jazz oriented direction led to the release of their 1996 album, Shack-man, although the band continued to experiment with free jazz in concert. Medeski has also utilized a number of different keyboard instruments, such as a mellotron, a melodica, and a clavinet, among others.The band received some of their first significant exposure outside of the New York City jazz scene by performing with Phish at their October 14, 1995 concert, and then opening for Phish and once again performing with them at their October 17, 1995 show. These appearances followed a statement by Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, who said that MMW played music that made him "drive too fast." Trey also sat in for the second set of a MMW show on December 1, 2000. Their initial performances with Phish led to the association of the group as a jam band.In addition, their performance on John Scofield's 1997 album, A Go Go helped to further their exposure.
