The band draws on influences from a number of musical traditions, from funk to Hip Hop, and is known for an unconventional style sometimes described as "avant-groove".
MMW has found moderate mainstream success—often working with noted guitarist John Scofield—and touring on the jam band circuit.
The band members were introduced to each other by jazz drummer Bob Moses, who had performed with Medeski and Wood , and was Martin's instructor.
Medeski Martin & Wood's first performances together were at the Village Gate, a popular New York jazz club. They were initially an acoustic jazz trio, but Medeski added a Hammond organ when the difficulties of touring with a piano became apparent. Their first album, Notes from the Underground, is a record of their entirely-acoustic era. All of their subsequent albums reveal Medeski's use of a wide variety of keyboards, including mellotron, melodica, and a clavinet. Wood entirely eschewed the electric bass for MMW's first three albums, and still relies heavily on the acoustic upright bass in recordings and during live performances. Their earlier albums reveal a Hip Hop influenced updating of classic soul jazz sounds, which is the primary theme of their well-known 1996 album, Shack-man.
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, which led to the association of the group as a jam band.[1] In addition, their performance on John Scofield's 1997 album A Go Go helped to further their exposure. The band collaborated further with Scofield again in 2006, releasing the album Out Louder under the name Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood. This was the first album released on MMW's own Indirecto Records.
From 1998–2005, MMW were signed to leading jazz label Blue Note Records, and showed them delving deeper into dense, electronic funk than their earlier albums, although the band continued to experiment with free jazz and free improvisation both on their albums and in concert.
Medeski Martin & Wood's live performances are renowned for their exploratory nature. Their concerts usually involve extended improvisations, which may be both arrhythmic and atonal, an aspect of their musicianship that is rarely documented in the studio. They occasionally tour using only acoustic instruments, reverting back to the instrumentation that they began their career with. Their album Tonic is an example of these more contemporary acoustic performances. They have also done short tours of entirely improvisatory performances. These shows usually consisted of two sets of improvisation, followed by an encore of a song from an album.
Their song "End of the World Party" was featured on the show Grey's Anatomy and can be found on the show's soundtrack.
Each of the trio's three members are involved in a large music community, and have participated in numerous side projects over the years.
In 2001 John Medeski collaborated with the North Mississippi Allstars and slide-guitarist Robert Randolph; together, these five musicians formed The Word, a bluesy gospel band. They released one self-titled album and toured extensively.
Beginning around 2005 Chris Wood formed The Wood Brothers with his brother, blues guitarist Oliver Wood. They have released several albums to date and continue to tour and record together.
In 2007 John Medeski and Billy Martin released an album as a duo, called Mago. They performed that material together at the 2007 Bonnaroo Music Festival
Hey Joe
Medeski Martin and Wood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand, oh
I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
Yeah, I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
Huh! and that ain't cool
Huh hey hoe, I heard you shot your mama down
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your lady down
You shot her down in the ground yeah!
Yeah!
Yes, I did, I shot her
You know I caught her messin' round messin' round town
Huh, yes I did I shot her
You know I caught my old lady messin' 'round town
And I gave her the gun
And I shot her
Alright
Shoot her one more time again baby!
Yeah!
Oh dig it
Oh alright
Hey Joe,
Where you gonna run to now where you gonna go
Hey Joe, I said
Where you gonna run to now where you gonna go
I'm goin' way down south
Way down to Mexico way
Alright
I'm goin' way down south
Way down where I can be free
Ain't no one gonna find me
Ain't no hang-man gonna
He ain't gonna put a rope around me
You better believe it right now
I gotta go now
Hey, Joe
You better run on down
Goodbye everybody
Hey hey Joe
The song "Hey Joe" by Medeski Martin and Wood begins with a conversation between two individuals, the singer and Joe. Joe is holding a gun and is asked where he is going with it, to which he replies that he is on his way to shoot his old lady because he caught her cheating on him with another man. However, the singer then informs Joe that he heard he had also shot his mother and his lady dead. Joe confesses that he did shoot his old lady because he caught her messing around in town, and he shot her dead with the very gun he was carrying. The song ends with Joe saying he is going way down south, to Mexico, where no one will find him.
The song is about domestic violence, the consequences of infidelity and the desire to escape from the authorities after committing a crime. The song shines a light on the themes of mistrust, jealousy, rage, and isolation. The lyrics reveal the two characters' perspectives and also provide insights into their motives and actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun of your hand
Asking about Joe's intentions as he is holding a gun in his hand.
Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand, oh
Emphasizing the question regarding Joe's gun.
I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
Joe's plan to shoot his wife due to infidelity.
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
Joe caught his wife cheating, which led him to his extreme decision.
Yeah, I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
Joe confirming his plan to commit murder.
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
Reiteration of the reason why Joe is going to shoot his wife.
Huh! and that ain't cool
Expressing how Joe feels about his wife's infidelity.
Huh hey hoe, I heard you shot your mama down
Someone heard about Joe shooting his mother.
You shot her down now
Confirmation of Joe's actions against his mother.
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your lady down
Someone heard about Joe shooting his wife.
You shot her down in the ground yeah!
Clarification of how Joe killed his wife.
Yes, I did, I shot her
Joe admits to committing the murder.
You know I caught her messin' round messin' round town
Joe caught his wife cheating with someone in town.
Huh, yes I did I shot her
Joe's reaffirmation about his actions against his wife.
You know I caught my old lady messin' 'round town
Repeatedly stating the reason behind Joe's crime.
And I gave her the gun
Joe took action by giving her the gun, her own demise.
And I shot her
Finalization of the murder and act of vengeance.
Where you gonna run to now where you gonna go
Questioning Joe's next move.
I'm goin' way down south
Joe's plan to flee to the south where he can be free.
Way down to Mexico way
Joe's destination for refuge from the law.
Ain't no one gonna find me
Joe is confident that he will not be caught despite the crime he committed.
Ain't no hang-man gonna
Joe will not be caught and executed by the hang-man.
He ain't gonna put a rope around me
Joe's determination to avoid being punished for his crime.
You better believe it right now
Exclaiming that anyone questioning him should believe his bold claim of not being caught.
I'm gonna run on down
Joe is still set on running away from his problems.
Goodbye everybody
Last words of Joe as he departs on his escape journey.
Hey hey Joe
Callout to Joe as he begins his journey away from society.
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Billy Roberts
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Evan Finch
This interpretation is so dynamic and thoughtful. This particular piano is really hot, and so are the mics.. You can hear the bench creak. Somebody's digital Timex beeps twice at the top of the hour at 2:27. Just awesome.
SodThisGiveMeABeer
+Evan Finch I believe the entire concert was recorded with a stereo pair, nothing more. Incredible!
Ben Dittbrenner
Dude, you have such better speakers/buds/headphones than me! Those beeps at 227 just sound like a frog croaking!
emiliano petronilli
Ya I think I remember reading on the CD sleeve that the whole gig was captured with two mics. Awesome atmosphere 👌
Nathan Reilly
So glad to see the warm reception this tune is getting! I'll make it my priority to upload the rest of the album in the highest quality I can find!
Ra
Vrhunski. Sjajno!
George Ferguson
nice work i love this slow jam. jimmy is sleeping to this. i have looked all over for this version. thank-you.
David Ettinger
Fantastic version / re-interpretation of this already, great tune. Has a bluesy New Orleans sound / feel,…..and could accompany a jazzy, slow paced, funeral march. A very contemplative version.
Chris Williams
Amazing!
Claudia de Magalhães
Awesome !