November 6, 2003

Medeski Martin and Wood In Concert at MASS MoCA

(North Adams, Mass.) Medeski Martin and Wood blends avant-garde improvisation and accessible, groove-based, jazz, winning a reputation among critics as groundbreaking musicians, and a huge fan base among people love to move to their deeply satisfying sounds. The trio will perform a concert at MASS MoCA on Saturday, December 6, at 8 P.M. "Perhaps the most influential jazz artists of the '90s, the trio has won fans among jam band aficionados, dance music followers, brainy post-rockers, and straight jazzbos," according to The Village Voice.

The group is made up of three impressive individual talents. Keyboardist John Medeski was a former child prodigy; Billy Martin is one of the most respected and influential percussionists in the world; and bassist Chris Wood studied composition, jazz and classical bass at the New England Conservatory of Music. The three crossed paths regularly throughout the '80s as sidemen and backup musicians for a who's who list of performers.

The three first convened as a group in 1991 for their first performance at New York's Village Gate and released their first album, Notes From the Underground the next year. With their breakthrough album, Friday Afternoon in the Universe, MMW moved from alternative jazz towards the mainstream, culminating in their 1996 release, Shack-man, which was recorded entirely in their practice shack in the Maui jungle. They returned to their avant-garde roots later that year hosting a series of weekly "Shack Parties" at New York's Knitting Factory, attracting another who's who of musicians including Living Color's Vernon Reid.

2000 was a banner year, with the group emerging as leaders in the competitive New York music scene. They opened Shacklyn Studios in Brooklyn's trendy DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) neighborhood and released two acclaimed albums, The Dropper and the live acoustic Tonic. They also played a Halloween concert at Manhattan's Beacon Theater to rave reviews. Today their reputation has achieved massive proportions. Gracefully moving from alternative jazz to pop music and back again, Medeski, Martin and Wood have acquired a substantial fan base at both ends of the spectrum.

Lickety Split will be open at 7 P.M. for dinner and drinks. The Medeski Martin and Wood concert is sponsored by Berkshire Gas.

Tickets for Medeski Martin and Wood in concert are $24 for adults or $20 for students with I.D. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line any time at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings. MASS MoCA focuses on the work of visual and performing artists charting new territory.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org