wednesday, apr. 12 - sunday, apr. 16
medeski, martin and wood
angel orensanz center for the arts
172 norfolk street bet houston and stanton
212 529 7194
Medeski Martin and Wood, a.k.a. MMW, formed in New York City in 1991. Each
was equally active in some music scene or another at the time. Billy Martin
had heard about John Medeski and Chris Wood through Bob Moses, and vice
versa. The trio quickly realized they had a special chemistry as soon as
they began playing together at Billy's Brooklyn loft. They first shared the
stage together as a trio at the Village Gate in New York City in the summer
of 1991. Soon after, they went into the studio to record their debut album,
Notes From the Underground, which they released independantly on hap-Jones
Records.
To escape the harsh NYC winters, they began touring the southeast in
Billy's old Ford van. The trio's popularity grew rapidly. Touring like
workdogs, they made it a point to avoid the "uptight and exclusive" jazz
clubs and opted to play coffee houses and small rock venues instead. As they
continued to tour, the van was replaced by a used Coachman RV/camper and
they ventured to Canada and the West Coast. In 1993 they joined the
Rykodisc/Gramavision label, on which they released: It's a Jungle in Here
(1993), Friday Afternoon in the Universe (1994) and Shack-man (1996)--this
was actually recorded in the band's "shack" in Hawaii. They have gone on to
play concert halls and theaters, touring nationwide, as well as Europe and
Japan, upgrading from RV to tour bus.
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