Medeski was born in
Louisville, Kentucky, and grew up in Florida. After studying piano as a child (starting when he was five years old), he began as a teenager to perform with musicians such as
Mark Murphy and
Jaco Pastorius. He attended
Pine Crest School. In 1983, after graduating from high school, he began studying piano at the
New England Conservatory in Boston, where he performed as a
sideman with
Dewey Redman,
Billy Higgins,
Bob Mintzer,
Alan Dawson. Medeski attributes his early interest in playing improvised music and jazz to listening to
Oscar Peterson. Medeski performs in a range of musical styles, from accessible groove based funk and jazz (such as the MMW albums and
A Go Go with
John Scofield) to more experimental music (including many of
John Zorn's projects:
Duras: Duchamp,
Interzone, Liber Novus, Nova Express,
Dreamachines,
Templars: In Sacred Blood,
At the Gates of Paradise etc. and collaborations with
David Fiuczynski). Medeski is best known for his work with
Medeski Martin & Wood including drummer and percussionist
Billy Martin and bassist
Chris Wood. The trio formed in New York in 1991 playing gigs at
The Village Gate. Since the mid-1990s they have toured steadily in both national and international funk, jazz, and jam music scenes. The band has collaborated with such musicians as
Iggy Pop,
Trey Anastasio and
John Scofield. Medeski produced and was featured on the
Dirty Dozen Brass Band's 1999 release,
Buck Jump. Also in 1999, he played the organ on two tracks of the
Morphine album
The Night. In 2000, Medeski became a member of
The Word, a bluesy gospel style project with members
Robert Randolph (pedal steel) from
Robert Randolph and the Family Band, brothers
Luther Dickinson (guitar) and
Cody Dickinson (drums), and Chris Chew (bass) of
North Mississippi Allstars. The band released a self-titled album in 2001 and toured in 2001 and 2002. The band reunited in 2005 for a performance at the
Bonnaroo Music Festival, and they embarked on tour again in late 2007. He has also occasionally performed with
Phil Lesh and Friends. Medeski was a guest on
Marian McPartland's
Piano Jazz radio program on September 27, 2005. During the show he talked at length about his formal training on the piano, his approach to playing music, and some of the musicians that he admires the most. He performed several songs by
Thelonious Monk and other composers, as well as the
Medeski, Martin & Wood classic "Bubblehouse". The show was released on compact disc on April 4, 2006. Medeski was also an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists. On July 14, 2006, John Medeski & The Itch performed their debut gig at the
All Good Music Festival in
Masontown, West Virginia. The Itch consists of
Eric Krasno (guitar) of
Soulive and
Adam Deitch (drums) with Medeski playing a B3 Organ. Also in 2006, Medeski performed with
The Million Dollar Bashers for the recording of the soundtrack to the
Bob Dylan biopic, ''
I'm Not There''. In 2008, Medeski was featured on guitarist
Will Bernard's
Blue Plate Special album. In 2012, Medeski was featured on progressive rock band
Coheed and Cambria's albums "
The Afterman: Ascension" and "
The Afterman: Descension," performing piano, clavinet and synthesizer parts. In 2016, Medeski formed the
supergroup Saudade along with
Chino Moreno of
Deftones,
Team Sleep,
Palms, and
Crosses; guitarist
Dr. Know of
Bad Brains; bassist Chuck Doom of Crosses and Team Sleep; and drummer Mackie Jayson of
Cro-Mags and Bad Brains. In 2018, Medeski formed John Medeski's Mad Skillet with two members of the
Dirty Dozen Brass Band. They recorded an album in New Orleans and toured subsequently. In 2023, Medeski composed and performed the original score for the new television series
The Curse, created and written by
Nathan Fielder and
Benny Safdie, starring
Emma Stone, Fielder and Safdie. ==Discography==