aeblog

Music, Marketing, and Word of mouth

I can't quite figure out what the deal is with Medeski, Martin and Wood. Their talent, both individual and as a group, is undisputable, though they seem to occupy this strange space somewhere between a jazz trio and a jam band. As far as I can tell they actually are and jazz trio - experimental for sure, but jazz nonetheless - though their audience seems to think otherwise. I can't imagine seeing anyone who was at Avalon on Thursday at Regatta Bar or any dark underground jazz bar in New York. They would have been at the Phish show instead. Or maybe Widespread Panic. Was this some sort of calculated marketing brilliance or did it just sort of happen this way for them? Clearly playing for this demographic is much more profitable than the typical jazz crowd. Somehow, sometime way back when, MMW was deemed to be super cool for the young, pot smoking, concert-taping masses and this reputation has stuck. They seem to be doing pretty well for themselves playing for kids who probably have no idea who Miles Davis and John Coltrane are, let alone Elvin Jones, Charles Mingus, and Thelonius Monk.
I think it is fantastic how MMW broke through the barrier between jazz and rock because, well, I just love seeing barriers broken. I wish I knew how it happened and whether it was by design or by happenstance.