SACRED STEEL:

INTERVIEW: Uninvisible Men: Acclaimed instrumental trio Medeski Martin & Wood thrive on spontaneity and groove (ALAN SCULLEY, 12/05/02, City Beat)

[T]he busiest of the three, though, is Medeski, who over the preceding year has recorded with such artists as Sex Mob, John Scofield and Gov't Mule and has also formed a side band, The Word, which released an acclaimed debut CD last year.

The Word started to take hold in 1998 when the North Mississippi All-Stars opened for Medeski Martin & Wood on tour. During that tour, Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi All-Stars and Medeski discovered they both shared a love for instrumental Gospel music. In particular, they spent time listening to a pair of CDs, Sacred Steel and Sacred Steel Live, that compiled Gospel tunes built around pedal steel guitar.

Medeski and the members of the North Mississippi All-Stars -- Dickinson, his brother Cody Dickinson and Chris Chew -- had already agreed to record an instrumental Gospel record when one evening pedal steel player Robert Randolph opened a North Mississippi All-Stars show in New York City. Immediately Randolph, who to that point had only performed in church, was invited into the project and The Word lineup was complete.

"He (Randolph) was there and he was just ready to come out and play with some people outside of the church," Medeski says. "So there we all were the same week. It's pretty wild how it all came together."

This is just a great disc. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 15, 2002 9:50 AM