Over the past few days organizers of the Summer Camp Music Festival have announced even more additions to their jam-packed lineup. HT faves Medeski Martin and Wood, The Wood Brothers, Everyone Orchestra and The Wailers are just a few of the bands announced since Wednesday that are set to play Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Illinois over Memorial Day Weekend.

Jon Wayne and The Pain, The Mike Dillon Band, Jimkata, Dopapod, James Wallace, Gangstagrass, Indigo Sun, SPREAD, AJ Sacco, Ties & Tassels, DotEXE, DIRTY No1ZE, The Mundies, Hubbard Stew, SunSquabi, ClusterPluck, Blue Rising, James and The Devil, Zeta June, Mr. Baber’s Neighbors: The Solar String Band, Ifdakar, Caravan of Thieves, Afternoon Moon, Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, Sun Stereo, The Coop, TOKiMONSTA, Digital Tape Machine, Trinketz, The Great I Am, Lake Shore Vibe, The Stone Sugar Shakedown, Soap, Tricky Ol’ Puss and Alvin Risk have also been added to the Summer Camp lineup. Also, Roosevelt Collier of The Lee Boys will be an Artist At Large at Summer Camp ’13.

All of these acts join the dozens of previously announced Summer Camp acts such as moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Trey Anastasio, STS9, The Avett Brothers, Big Gigantic, EOTO, Big Boi, Diplo and Thievery Corporation. Tickets are available through the Summer Camp Festival website.

Back in December, avant-groovers Medeski, Martin and Wood played a residency at NYC’s famed Blue Note club and welcomed some of their musical friends for guest spots during the run. One of these friends was Wilco guitarist Nels Cline who fit the trio’s music perfectly on December 12.

[Photo via MMW Facebook Page]

HT’s Chad Berndtson reviewed the gig and had us salivating to hear it…

Next to these swirling personalities, Nels Cline slipped in seamlessly. He’s a cerebral player, but with a flair for the dramatic, hitting the middle of the acid-jazz/melodious noise Venn diagram with a bit of post-rock thrown in, too. He’ll play guitar like he’s wrangling an electric eel; it’s shocking him as he’s trying to control it, jerking and weaving. When he’s really laying in, the man isn’t so much playing the guitar as the other way around, and otherworldly noises — often, but not always, his signature tremolo effect — rip through the musical fabric. Another band would want to give a player like that more room to do his thing. MMW made him put it in their context, and in turn let themselves get jerked and weaved a bit, too.

Well, audio has surfaced of MMW + C’s second set thanks to samsamsamsam on SoundCloud. You can stream the quartet’s performance through these two embeds…

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Medeski, Martin and Wood w/ Nels Cline @ Blue Note – Dec. 12

Well, of course it was a good idea, and even if they hadn’t played this well, the titillation of seeing Medeski Martin & Wood in a room this small, decades into an adventurous and nearly-always-rewarding career, would have been a good enough reason to go. But then, there’s always something extra when MMW come home to the Big Apple.

[Photo via MMW Facebook Page]

The more you think about it — and the more you watch other acts who’ve been around and/or are as consistent as MMW, but who’ve undoubtedly faded with the burdens of time and expectations — the more you’re sure John, Billy and Chris have done things the right way over 21 years together.

That they don’t play together as often as they used to is, as Billy Martin told me over the summer, by design. It makes them better. It keeps things fresh. It makes the shows sound as organic and spry as possible. It reflects a collective understanding by three guys who are so intimately familiar with each other as musicians that they know the comfort level that made them that way can also make what they do feel routine and even antiseptic. Exceptional comfort among musicians is a double-edged sword, as everyone from Phish on down knows.

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This weekend Medeski, Scofield, Martin and Wood regrouped to play a pair of shows in Colorado – Friday evening at the Ogden Theatre in Denver and last night at the Boulder Theater in Boulder. Just before the brief run, John Medeski and John Scofield headed to Grateful Dead / Furthur bassist Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads venue in San Rafael, California to perform a handful of shows with Lesh, Warren Haynes and Joe Russo, so you can’t blame them for having The Dead on their minds.

On Friday MSMW debuted their version of the Grateful Dead’s Scarlet Begonias. It’s instrumental, naturally, but it’s also got that signature MSMW avant-groove sound as the quartet deconstructed the classic Dead tune in an inventive way. Thanks to taper Scott Schneider we can check it out…

MSMW also worked scattered covers of The Beatles’ Julia, Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix and Peter Tosh’s Legalize It among original material in Denver. Next up for the group is an appearance on Jam Cruise 11.

We’ll never forget the day in the late ’90s when it was revealed that avant-groovers Medeski, Martin and Wood were heading into the studio with jazz guitar legend John Scofield. This was a collaboration straight out of the dreams of many fans. The resulting album, A Go Go, stands among the best work by both artists. The project was too good to keep to just one album and tour, so thankfully the trio and Sco have teamed up plenty of times since that first album for tours and special shows.

MSMW will play a pair of shows in Colorado next month before making their Jam Cruise debut in January. Soundboard recordings of the group are fairly rare, so we were excited to see that Bear Creek organizers have shared an official recording of MSMW’s set from November 12th, 2011 at Big IV Amphitheatre for our listening pleasure. Listen as the quartet work through tunes from their two albums as well as a gorgeous cover of Lennon/McCartney’s Julia. There’s also sit ins from Roosevelt Collier of The Lee Boys and drummer Johnny Vidacovich. Check it…

Set: A Go Go, Down The Tubes > Hanuman, Little Walter Rides Again, Miles Behind, Julia,  In Case The World Changes Its Mind (w/ Roosevelt Collier), Tootie Ma Was A Big Fine Thing (w/ Johnny Vidacovich), Hottentot

Earlier this fall two of the best jazz trios out there, The Bad Plus and Medeski, Martin & Wood, released new albums. The former’s studio effort, Made Possible, finds the band cutting through the sharp passages and beautiful moments we’ve come to expect from them, along with some branching beyond the purely acoustic aesthetic for the first time. The latter’s live album, Free Magic, is culled from an ’07 tour that found them eschewing their electric arsenal (or John’s anyway) for an all-acoustic show for the first time (for a full tour). Both releases are busy characterizing this autumn’s aural memories for me, and so we’ll turn to two full sets this week, one from each band, one new and one properly aged.

The first night of the relatively short tour in support of Free Magic found MMW in Fall River, a rather gloomy city perched on a hill, a city that boasts my favorite venue ever: The Narrows. The second floor of an old mill building, the Narrows is a warm, open, wooden space with pews for seating, views of the pier and an arching bridge above, and artists’ galleries in the back of the room. It is simply the coziest, best feeling room around, and as such it draws out spectacular performances. And recordings, like John Lynch’s capture of the night. Featured here is the first set, with its loose, open beginning, incredible versions of Illmoan and Down on Me, and a stunning take on Suspicious Minds to close.

From The Bad Plus comes a great set from a great tour: Paris from their first European outing. From the enticing lull of Film’s opening notes to the rollicking groove of Everywhere You Turn to the awesome Iron Man encore, it’s quintessential Bad Plus. The material and playing are so fresh and bright.

It’s a long one this week, so settle in and as always, enjoy!

• CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK’S MIX

HT faves Medeski, Martin and Wood’s acoustic tour visited The Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut last night where the trio invited saxophonist Bill Evans to jam with them. Evans has played with the band a number of times in the past and will join them again on December 14th at the Blue Note as part of MMW’s residency at the famed New York City venue.

Videographer extraordinaire MKDevo was on hand last night and captured over 20 minutes of outstanding footage featuring Evans’ sit-in with his two cameras. We especially like the part where Medeski busts out his Hohner Claviola for one of the more melodic sections of the jam. Check it out…

Medeski, Martin and Wood w/ Bill Evans

Medeski, Martin & Wood – Jordan Hall, Boston, MA – October 5, 2012

Words & Photos: Parker Harrington

An evening with avant-jazz masters, groove kings and funk wizards, Medeski, Martin & Wood at Jordan Hall in Boston on Friday, October 5th, could not have taken place at a more appropriate venue. Offering some of the most impeccable acoustics of any hall in the world, Jordan Hall pristinely showcased the same type of blues, funk, grooves and free-form jazz that the trio released on their new album, Free Magic. Coming after the release of 20, which celebrated the band’s 20th anniversary, Free Magic, like Friday’s show, features MM&W performing at their raw, acoustic best.  Jordan Hall is housed within the New England Conservatory where all band members attended as students in the early 1980’s.

[Medeski, Martin and Wood]

Attending a show at the 1,000+ seat hall was at times as intimate as having a heart-to-heart conversation in your own living room. Yet, slowly building from a simple and patient percussive beat by Billy Martin, rich bass textures by Chris Wood and melodic keys by John Medeski, the band had an extraordinary skill in stitching together textured layers of sound, expansive grooves and wild improvisation to quickly transform the listener to a wide open space with seemingly limitless dimensions.

The 45 minute first set gave ample opportunity for each band member to showcase their craft. Opening improv work from the entire band morphed nicely into a piano groove with Medeski interspersing the free form that the band had slowly built with what seemed to be sheet music that he was reading from. After Medeski’s turn in the spotlight, Wood’s massive double bass had a chance to fill the expansive hall with several minutes of improv and soloing before segueing into 20’s Down on Me. Throughout the set, effortless communication had the music bouncing everywhere from a scat styled tambourine beat to dueling piano and bass notes. An absolutely gorgeous 15-minute rendition of Elvis’ Suspicious Minds closed the set to thunderous applause.

Medeski, Martin and Wood – Suspicious Minds

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If you’re in an indie-rock band these days and not involved in some sort of collaborative side project, then you’re in the minority. The latest merging of talents comes in the form of the Divine Fits, who feature Spoon front man Britt Daniels, Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs and Sam Brown from New Bomb Turks. The band, who released their debut album, A Thing Called Divine Fits, late last month, made their late-night debut last Friday night on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The Divine Fits, who played a handful of warm up dates this summer opening up for The Black Keys, will head out for a fall headlining tour that kicks off on October 6, with a high profile appearance at the SoundLand Festival in Nashville.

If you’re not into a night with the indie-rock super-group, then maybe you’ll be interested in hitting one of these recently announced tours…

• Laura Marling: Working Holiday Tour (9/27 – 10/27)
• Ray LaMontagne: Solo Acoustic Tour (11/16 – 12/3)
• The Sword: Late Fall U.S. Tour (10/29 – 12/18)
• Roky Erickson: Late Fall U.S. Tour (10/27 – 11/18)
• Amy Helm Band: Fall North American Tour (9/12 – 11/27)
• Counting Crows: Late Fall U.S. Tour (10/23 – 11/24)
• The Mother Hips: Fall -> Winter U.S. Tour (10/26 – 12/31)

Also of note, HT faves Medeski, Martin and Wood have just announced a week-long residency at famed NYC jazz club the Blue Note. From December 11 – 16, the trio will perform two shows each night (8PM and 10:30PM). So far, three special guests have been revealed – Nels Cline (Dec. 12), guitarist Marc Ribot (Dec. 13), and saxophonist Bill Evans (Dec. 14).

It’s hard to believe YouTube is only seven-and-a-half years old as the video portal has become a ubiquitous part of life on the internet. In that time music fans have filled YouTube servers with video from the past which brings us to today’s B List topic. We’ve compiled a list of the oldest video on YouTube for 10 of the most successful bands to develop out of the jam scene.

These classic clips bring us back to a time when Al Schnier, John Medeski and Page McConnell had full heads of hair and gives us a look at the days when the members of these bands stood nearly on top of each at small gigs before they achieved success. Now, keep in mind that the footage needed to be worth watching to make our list, so even though there might be older videos out there for a few of these groups, but if you can’t see the band it defeats the purpose.

1. Medeski Martin and Wood – September 12, 1993

In searching for the oldest MMW video(s) on YouTube we hit paydirt with this one-hour, professionally-shot episode of Live at Lucille’s which was recorded at the Knoxville jazz club on September 12, 1993. John, Chris and Billy talk about their signature sound and roll through such classics as Syeeda’s Song Flute, Chubb Sub, Hermentos Daydream and Wiggly’s Way.

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HT faves Medeski, Martin and Wood will release a new album entitled Free Magic on September 25th via the band’s Indirecto Records label. Free Magic will feature tracks recorded during the trio’s first-ever acoustic tour in 2007. The album contains five tracks in total with Where’s Sly from 1993′s It’s A Jungle In Here and Doppler from the band’s previous LP among the tunes appearing on Free Magic.

“This stuff brings it back to when we used to hang out in this rented shack in Hawaii and make music together,” says Martin of the music on Free Magic. “It was really just a little plywood cabin in the jungle with a tin roof. John had a prepared piano there that sounded like a gamelan instrument and I had these funky drums that had mold growing on them, or I might play the side of the shack or play the railing going up the stairs and make it sound like a xylophone. And we’d get into a lot of different stuff there, just having musical conversations in this intimate setting.”

Take a listen to Doppler off Free Magic…

Free Magic track listing:

1. Doppler
2. Blues For Another Day
3. Free Magic/Ballade In C Minor
4. Where’s Sly?
5. Nostalgia In Times Square/Angel Race

MMW hits the road for another acoustic jaunt this fall…

10/03 – Fall River, MA – Narrows Center for the Arts
10/04 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre
10/05 – Boston, MA – Jordan Hall
10/06 – Albany, NY – Massry Center for the Arts
10/07 – Bethel Woods, NY – Bethel Woods
10/08 – Englewood, NJ – Bergen PAC
10/10 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse
10/11 – Stroudsburg, PA – Sherman Theatre
10/12 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount
10/13 – Washington, DC – Kennedy Center
10/14 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head Tavern

Last night at the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn, HT faves Medeski, Martin and Wood brought many of their musical friends out for a show billed as “Medeski, Martin and Wood + ?” as part of the Undead Festival. The inventive three-set format featured the trio improvising in the first set, guests replacing members of the trio in the second set and guests joining MMW in the third set.

According to our pal Jeremy Welsh, the second set started off with Anthony Coleman replacing John Medeski, continued with Oren Bloedow sitting in for Chris Wood followed by Calvin Weston covering Billy Martin’s spot. From there, HT fave Marco Benevento guested on keys for a riveting segment with Martin and Wood. The last two segments featured Medeski, Martin and tuba player Bob Stewart and then Medeski and Wood with drummer Adam Deitch.

We came across a clip of Benevento, Martin and Wood…

Marco Benevento, Billy Martin and Chris Wood

Third set guests included Miho Hatori, So Percussion, DJ Logic, Charlie Burnham and Chuck Campbell as well as Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid. We hope a recording surfaces soon.

On May 10 HT faves Medeski, Martin and Wood will play a special show at Brooklyn’s Masonic Temple as part of the 2012 Undead JazzFest. For this inventive three-part gig, billed as “Medeski, Martin and Wood + ?” the trio will be joined by over a dozen special guests.

In total, the show will be split into three segments. MMW will play a full set to start. Then, the second part will see different guests rotating through each position, so there will be between six to eight different musicians replacing either John Medeski, Billy Martin or Chris Wood throughout the set, performing MMW pieces and improvisations. For the third part, the guests will sit in with all of MMW.

Today, the band has confirmed the first set of guests. Marco Benevento, Anthony Coleman, Marcus Rojas, Oren Bloedow, Vernon Reid, Charlie Burnham and Chuck Campbell will all perform as part of this unique concert with more musicians to be named later. Tickets are currently available through Ticketfly.

We’re going to close out a year of celebrating MMW’s 20th anniversary with a set of the trio’s bread and butter: improv. As much as Hidden Track readers are used to some improvisation in their music and even seek it out, MMW plays the game on a different level. Grounded in jazz and world rhythms, their approach to jamming is far more free and open than other bands; it’s an approach that let’s them jingle jangle through passages, and absolutely crush a groove too.

They’ve done whole improv tours from time to time, or tours with a set of improv and a set of written material, or only the loosest form of written material, but one of my all time favorite improv sets comes from a one off benefit gig for John Zorn’s now defunct Tonic on New York’s Lower East Side.

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Once again we’ve got an all-video edition of Intermezzo as we highlight some of the memorable moments that took place both on Halloween and over this past weekend.

Let’s start with Z-Man’s video of Widespread Panic covering Outta Mind (Outta Sight) from the encore of the jam titan’s Halloween show along with Postcard, Porch Song and a fun version of Werewolves of London featuring the entire crew…

Widespread Panic – Outta Mind (Outta Sight), Postcard, Porch Song, Werewolves of London

LazyLightning55 gives us our fill of HalloWeen with this Goin’ Gets Tough From The Getgo from Ween’s show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City…

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