Biography
Before becoming part of Medeski, Martin & Wood, Martin was part of the New York City Brazilian scene in the 1980s. He performed regularly with Pe De Boi, Batucada and several Bob Moses bands for over a decade. He also joined Chuck Mangione's touring group for three years. Most notably he has developed as a percussionist for The Lounge Lizards and with the John Lurie National Orchestra, and has collaborated with artists such as John Zorn, DJ Logic, Dave Burrell and Miho Hatori. He has also started his own record label, Amulet Records, specializing in eclectic percussion albums. Martin has also collaborated with Iggy Pop, Eyvind Kang, Chris Whitley, DJ Olive, Ikue Mori, John Scofield, Maceo Parker, Calvin Weston, Marty Ehrlich, and Min Xiao-Fen.
Martin also sometimes goes by the moniker Illy B. The most notable releases as Illy B include the Illy B Eats series of breakbeat records. DJ Logic convinced Martin to record a breakbeat album for DJs and other producers to use and remix. At the last minute, Martin decided to place an insert which invited remixers to submit their mixes for a follow-up compilation, Drop the Needle .
Along with his percussion work, Martin is a visual artist. He does printmaking, painting, pencil drawings, and pastel drawings, among other mediums. His work has been displayed in several galleries and is also on the packaging of many Medeski Martin & Wood albums, most notably the cover of Shack-man .
2006 was a prolific year for Martin; he created new chamber compositions for John Zorn's Tzadik label, he released Out Louder on MMW's new label Indirecto, he produced many new artworks, and published a drum book entitled Riddim: Clave of African Origin.
Marc Ribot is an American guitarist and composer.
Medeski Martin & Wood is an American jazz fusion band formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. The band is influenced by musical traditions including funk and hip hop and is known for an unconventional style sometimes described as "avant-groove".
DJ Olive is an American disc jockey and turntablist. He is known for producing music generally in the electronic genre, with strong influences of dub, and free improvisation styles. He is widely credited with coining of the term "Illbient" in 1994. He was a founding member of the immersionist group Lalalandia Entertainment Research Corporation in 1991.
Bobby Previte is a drummer, composer, and bandleader. He earned a degree in economics from the University at Buffalo, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979 and began professional relationships with John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, and Elliott Sharp.
Gramavision Records is an American record label founded in 1979. Since 1994 it has been a subsidiary of Rykodisc. The label's music is largely jazz, blues and folk oriented but has touched on many other styles and genres.
Anthony John Medeski is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano and an eclectic array of keyboards, including the Hammond B3 organ, melodica, mellotron, clavinet, ARP String Ensemble, Wurlitzer electric piano, Moog Voyager Synthesizer, Wurlitzer 7300 Combo Organ, Vox Continental Baroque organ, and Yamaha CS-1 Synthesizer, among others. When playing acoustic piano, Medeski usually plays the Steinway piano and is listed as a Steinway Artist.
Steven Bernstein is an American trumpeter, slide trumpeter, arranger/composer and bandleader based in New York City. He is best known for his work in The Lounge Lizards, Sex Mob, Spanish Fly and the Millennial Territory Orchestra. Sex Mob's 2006 CD Sexotica was nominated for a Grammy.
Cyro Baptista is a Brazilian-born percussionist in jazz and world music. He creates many of the percussion instruments he plays.
Marty Ehrlich is a multi-instrumentalist and is considered one of the leading figures in avant-garde jazz.
Hans Wendl is a producer. He began his career in the music business with the record label ECM Records in his hometown of Munich in the mid-1970s and was associated with the German label for twelve years before moving to the United States in 1986. He was also director of the Gramavision Records label for Rykodisc for three years during the mid-1990s.
Combustication is the fifth major album by experimental jazz fusion trio Medeski Martin & Wood, released on August 11, 1998. Combustication was MMW's first album for the jazz label Blue Note Records. The album is their first to include an accompanying turntablist, in this case longtime MMW collaborator DJ Logic. Combustication features instrumental renditions of the Sly and the Family Stone hit "Everyday People," as well as the Hawaiian traditional "No Ke Ano Ahiahi."
Electric Tonic is a live jazz album by Medeski Martin & Wood. It consists of completely improvised material recorded as one piece at Tonic in New York City on July 4, 1998. Described by the band's website as "electric improvisational birthday music", it had previously been available only at their live shows and through the band's online store. It is now sold online through Amazon. For the Electric Tonic concert, electric keyboards and basses were used by Medeski and Wood respectively, a counterpart to the group's fully acoustic album Tonic, recorded eight months later at the same venue, though released first in 2000.
Note Bleu: Best of the Blue Note Years 1998–2005 is a "best of" or "greatest hits" compilation from avant-jazz-funk organ trio Medeski Martin & Wood, released in 2006 and featuring select songs from all of the band's albums released on Blue Note Records.
Bubblehouse is an EP released by experimental jazz funk organ trio Medeski Martin & Wood.
The Radiolarian Series is an album project by experimental jazz fusion trio Medeski Martin & Wood released in three installments in 2008–2009.
Zaebos: Book of Angels Volume 11 is an album of compositions by John Zorn released in 2008 by experimental jazz fusion trio Medeski Martin & Wood performing compositions from John Zorn's second Masada book, "The Book of Angels" on the Tzadik label.
Josh Roseman is an American jazz trombonist. His nickname is "Mr. Bone". He studied in Newton North High School.
This is a discography for guitarist Marc Ribot, including both his own albums and significant recordings to which he has contributed. The year in brackets indicates the date of first release.
Jerome Harris is an American jazz musician specializing in electric and acoustic bass guitar, electric guitar, voice, and occasionally lap steel and small percussion.
Grant Calvin Weston is a drummer best known for his association with Ornette Coleman's band Prime Time.
