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I he P ortland O bserver • J une 21, 1995
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EMTERTAIPiMEITT
MEDESKI, MARTIN &W O O D
John Medeski, Billy Martin & Chris Wood
Pianist/organist John Medeski
grew up in Florida, where he bagan
formal musical training at age five.
By his high school years, he'd worked
w ith Jaco P a sto riu s and M ark
Murphy, in addition to performing
frequently with other local and na
tional musical luminaries. In 1983,
he studied at the New England Con
servatory with Ran Blake, Leonard
Shure and Bob Moses. During the
mid-eighties, in addition to his for
mal musical studies, he gained in
valuable experience working as a
sideman in the Boston area with per
formers such as Dewey Redman,
Billy Higgins, Bob Mintzer and Alan
Dawson, and New England blues
legend Mr. Jellybelly, who first en
couraged Medeski to explore the
complexities and wonders o f the B-3
organ. At this time he also served as
pianist/organist for jazz groups the
Either Orchestra, Mandala Octet and
the Chris Hollyday Quartet. In 1991,
he moved to New York City and has
since worked with dozens o f “down
town" musical groups and perform
ers, including Reggie Workman, John
Lurie’s Lounge Lizards, John Zorn’s
Masada Group and Oren Bloedow.
The year 1994 has seen the release o f
M edeski’s second Gramavision al
bum entitled Lunar Crush, an “avant-
rock-jazz-hop” collaboration with
virtuoso guitarist David “ Fuze"
Fiuczynski that was voted one o f the
“Best Jazz Alums o f 1994" by the
Village Voice. In addition to his per
formance on David Byrne’s 1994
self-titled release, Medeski, along
with musical partners Martin and
Wood, also participated on arranger
Ken Schaphorst’s upcoming Accu
rate Records album. When The Moon
Jumps.
D rum m eCpercussionist Billy
Martin was born in New York City,
the son o f a former Radio City
Rockette and a violinist with the New
York City Ballet and the New York
City Opera Orchestra. As a child, he
studied privately with several pro
fessional drummers including Joe
Morello, Michael Carvin and Latin
percussion master, Frankie Malabe.
In 1984 and 1985, Martin’s percus
sion interests had turned heavily to
ward Caribbean, Latin and other
African-based rhythms, and he dove
head-first into New York’s Brazilian
music scene, performing with sever
al groups, including Pe De Boi. Dur
ing this time, Billy also began a long
association with drummer, percus
sionist and composer extraordinary
Bob M oses, perform ing on his
Gramavision albums, A Visit With
the Great Spirit ( 1984), The Story O f
Moses (1987) and Time Stood Still
(1994), as well as a late-eighties Eu
ropean release o f the duo’s Drum
ming Birds collaborations. In 1985.
Billy jo in e d Chuck M angione’s
group, gaining valuable performance
ex perience as he toured with the group
over the next three years. After mov
ing on from Mangione’s group in
1988, he situated himself in Brook
lyn, quickly immersing him self in
New York's burgeoning “downtown"
music scene, performing, touring and
recording with groups that included
Samm Bennett's Chunk, the Ned
Rothenberg Double Band and an
important stint serving from 1991-
94 as percussionist for John Lurie’s
Lounge Lizards. In addition to M ar
tin's participation in Medeski, Mar
tin & Wood, he is also a drummer for
John Zorn’s Masada group and a
member o f the John Lurie National
Orchestra (a trio with saxophonist
Lurie and Calvin W eston), with
w hom he recently toured Europe and
Japan and can also be seen perform
ing with in the upcoming major mo
tion picture, “ Blue in the Face."
While growing up in Colorado,
bassist Chris Wood studied jazz and
classical bass, as well as musical
composition. He performed profes
sionally in Denver while in his teens,
and in 1989, moved to Boston to
Sesame Street To Perform In Portland
The muppets are set to perform in Portland.
Opening Friday June 23
Lioyd Mall Cinemas - Exclusive!
it
The Glass Shield
Directed by Charles Burnett
Starring: Michael Boatman
Lori Petty * Bernie Casey
Ice Cube * Michael Ironside
What do you have in common
w ith m onsters, b ird s, ho n k ers,
grouches and counts?
Y ou’re all members o f Elmo’s
friendship club!
Join the Muppets as they teach
fun-filled lessons about friendship in
Sesame Street Live’s all-new stage
extravaganza, “L et’s Be Friends,”
coming to Portland Memorial Coli
seum from June 29 through July 2.
Tickets are available at the Port
land Memorial Coliseum and all
TicketM aster outlets. Regular price
tickets are $17.50, $12.50 and $8.
Discounts may apply for children
and groups on selected performances. •
For further information, contact (he
Portland Memorial Coliseum box
office at (503) 224-44(X).
It all begins when Zoe and Elmo
start a friendship club especially for
red and orange monsters, only to find
that everyone on Sesame Street wants
to join. The club grows rapidly as the
Muppets discover everybody has
something unique to offer the group.
Join Big Bird, Snuffy and the
rest of the Sesame Street Live troupe.
The performance schedule is as
follows:
Thurday, June 29 at 7 p.m. Fri
day, June 3 0 at 10:30a.m. and 7 pm.
Saturday, July I at 10:30a.m .,2 p.m.
and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, July 2 at I
p.m. and 4 p.m.
study at the New England Conserva
tory, where he studied with Dave
Holland, Geri Allen and Bob Moses.
During this time, he also worked as a
sideman for some o f the area’s top
jazz talents, including Bob Moses,
George Russel, Steve Kuhn, Joann
Brackeen, Randy Weston, the Ei-
th e r/O rc h e stra and the Ken
Schaphorst Big Band In 1991, Chris
moved to New York City, where his
unique approach, versatility and
wide-ranging influences made him
an in-demand player on the “down
town” music scene, performing and/
or touring w ith among others, Marc
Ribot, Ned Rothenberg, John Zorn,
Jack Walrath, the Jazz Passengers,
Elliot Sharp, Samm Bennett’s band
Chunk, and Oren Bleodow. Aside
from his duties with Medeski, Martin
& Wood, Chris is also a member o f
Marc R ibot’s Shrek group, with
whom he also tours and records.
Wood is featured on Shrek’s 1994
self-titled Avant release, as well as
another 1994 Avant project, Rough
Assemblage’sConstruction And Dem
olition, performing works by compos
er Norman Yamata. He can also be
heard on the Ned Rothenberg Double
Band’s release Real And Imagined
Time (Moers Music), which will be
released in January o f 1995.
Brian McKnight To Release
Remember You”
M u s ic
M il l e n n i u m
Mercury recording artist Brain
McKnight is set to release the fol
low-up to his 1992 self-titled gold
debut. I Remember You will hit stores
in August.
McKnight’s debut album was a
critical and commercial triumph, yield
ing the hit single, “One Last Cry.”
During this time, Brian's production
work with Vanessa Williams on her
Comfort Zone sessions was widely
praised, while his duet with her on
"Love Is" also became a Top 5 hit.
McKnight is also much in de
mand in the studio His inspired pro
duction o f “U Will Know" from the
film “Jason’s Lyric” received criti
cal acclaim. Boys II Men asked him
to produce their Christmas album.
Included on I Remember You is
the cover o f Van M orrison’s “Crazy
Love," also found on the “Jason’s
Lyric soundtrack and currently
climbing the Billboard charts.
32nd
& E.
Burnside
231-8926
p/ieAœuJ. a
Shout!
23rd
& NW
Johnson
248-0163
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Portland Memorial Coliseum
.. ïlîu.,î Î a»j
?? w y ff. Sunday, July 2
THURSDAY
June 29 • 7:00 pm
rWRSDA Y EVENING IS KGW-TV FAMIL Y NIGHT. All Seels $4.00 OFF!
FRIDAY
June 30 • 10:30 am & *7:00 pm
•
fuida y morning is KA tu famil y ma TINEE • All Seels $7.501
SA TURDAY
July 1 • *10:30 am, *2:00 pm, *5:30 pm
ejeecdi
•
July 2 • *1:00 pm and *4:30 pm
TICKETS ON
SALE NOW!
ce Cube (left) and Michael Boatman (right) in Charles Burnett's
rhe Glass Shield.
CHARGE BY
PHONE:
a t the Coliseum
B ox O ffice a n d
a ll G.l. J o e /
Ticketm aster
Centers
Ripped from headlines, “The Glass Shield" recounts the
chilling journey of a young black police officer who goes
from wanting to wear a uniform to waging a full blown war
against the wages of prejudice, corruption and deceit within a
Los Angeles Sheriffs station.
224-4400
’cTW1
« K *» J H E N S O N .
Sportwed and arranyed by
II Jäm in and ih r F ir%t Lad«
sesame street uve
* Children 1-10
S * * S2 per ticket at
Ticket Price»
M » 8 1 2 .5 0
AO Seat» Reserved
Rated PG-13/108 minutes
Free tickets are available at the House o f Sounds Records Shop - 3620 N
Williams and T he Portland Observer News Paper - 4747 N.E. M LK
•
»tarred performance»,
compliment» of POX «9
Kid» Chib
VsA M E
„
by V K
*