Billy Martin of Medeski, Martin & Wood, arguably the most accomplished jam band on the planet, expands his universe in adventurous music-making. Tonight, the drummer joins the contemporary chamber ensemble Alarm Will Sound in their New York premiere of Omnisphere at Brooklyn Steel during Winter Jazzfest.
A heavy groove drummer who has never been shy in incorporating exotic sounds — from bamboo rain sticks to Tibetan bowls — Martin is now ready to make his mark in contemporary classical music.
In this edition of My Music on The Checkout, Martin joins us from the Montreal Jazz Festival to take us on a journey through this engaging recording, beginning with his impressionistic composition “Coral Sea,” inspired by his early interest in marine biology. This tune became the score for the documentary film The Shell Collector, about an academic blind shell collector from Okinawa.
Martin also sheds light on two other enthralling compositions from the album: “Oh Ye of Little Faith… (Do You Know Where Your Children Are?),” written by Alarm Will Sound’s guitarist, Caleb Burhans; and an orchestral rock suite by John Medeski called “The Eye of Ra.”
