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For John Medeski music has always been about healing
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John Medeski
organ, Hammond B3b.1965
Best known as one-third of the avant-garde jazz / funk trio Medeski, Martin & Wood along with
Billy Martin
drumsb.1963
Chris Wood
bassb.1969
Jaco Pastorius
bass, electric1951 - 1987
Mark Murphy
vocals1932 - 2015
He lived in Boston for college, and then in New York in his 20s. But Medeski was always drawn to nature. "I learn a lot by being around things humans couldn't create," he says. "Like trees and mountains. I just don't think humans are that clever or that important."
Despite his love of the natural world, John is an innovative electronic (or at least electric) musician. He twists and squeezes the sound of his keyboards— distorting, filtering and processing the instruments to find unusual and sometimes otherworldly textures. Maybe that's why he lists NASA's recording of a black hole at the center of the Perseus galaxy cluster as one of his favorite recent musical discoveries.
Medeski is a highly collaborative musician: in addition to MMW, he has been a part of numerous musical collectives including The Word, Mad Skillet, Hudson, Saint Disruption, and multiple
John Zorn
saxophone, altob.1953
We spoke recently about the healing power of music; what attracted him to music as a boy; his creative and professional development; and the moment in 1996 when MMW discovered their jam band audience.
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Radio & Podcasts
John Medeski
Leo Sidran
Billy Martin
Chris Wood
Jaco Pastorius
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John Medeski Concerts
Feb
7
Sat
John Medeski And Kirk Knuffke: The Angelic Brothers
Miller Theatre at Columbia UniversityNew York, NY
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