John, adopted at birth by Mr. & Mrs. Edward Medeski, was born in Louisville, Kentucky where he remained for the first 18 months of his life until he and his parents moved just outside of Chicago to follow his father's furniture business. Mrs. Medeski was "an overachiever" as John describes it, teaching her young boy how to read before he could even speak (through mrs. M's home-schooled program of flashcards) and later exposing him to art lessons and theater groups at a very young age...but it was john's father that formally inducted him into the world of music. Shortly after John learned to walk, his dad (himself a keyboard hobbyist who would perform at cocktail parties and family gatherings) took young John on as a partner, sitting with him at the piano, teaching him basic chord changes at first and then easily progressing into blues and old jazz standards.
With only 9 years on the planet, John had his first experience in the "zone". He remembers the moment clearly: playing for a local woman's club, performing a Mozart piano sonata, feeling extremely relaxed, watching his hands move without thinking, leaving his body...and just watching himself play...from the outside. Although the experience would not be replicated again until sometime in the 10th grade, it was enough to help him decide NOT to leave the piano, and by the time he was 12 years old, music had completely taken over his life.
Despite his varying influences John ALWAYS considered himself a classical musician raised through a very conservative and strict approach championed by the Russian masters. competing in this environment both regionally and nationally (despite his humble roots) John was no stranger to the snobbish culture of this world, and all that went with it. As he grew up, the vibe of this culture was enough to turn Medeski off to the entire genre.
John chose to attend the New England Conservatory of Music, mainly for the ability to combine his classical education with jazz and began to study with Leonard Shure. By his second year in school he had transferred to the "third stream" division of NEC, studying with Ran Blake, Joe Maneri, Dave Holland, and Bob Moses. John also started playing more live jazz, sharing the stage with The Hollyday Brothers, Dewey Redman, Bob Mintzer and Billy Higgins, eventually gigging almost every night of the week with everyone from Mr. Jelly Belly to the Either/Orchestra. A severe case of tendonitis almost ended his career, but thanks to a man named Richard Zukowski, it actually became a rebirth; with the help of Hoshino Therapy, John basically had to re-teach himself how to use his body and play the piano. This method of healing is dependent on a certain amount of mental, physical and spiritual cleansing as well. Ultimately, it led John to transform himself, opening him up to a new way of living, thinking AND playing.
By the time he graduated from the conservatory, John met Mr. Chris Wood - playing with him on "some strange Boston gig". Shortly thereafter, Bob Moses, John and Chris hooked up with a gig touring Israel. It was this fabled Israeli run that instantly solidified the friendship between Chris and John. It wasn't long thereafter that they both decided to move to New York where John had been performing at the Village Gate. After a couple of two week runs with the great Reggie Workman, John asked Chris to join him. Inspired to take it one step further, they began looking for a drummer. A rehearsal was soon scheduled in Brooklyn at the loft of Sir Billy Martin. It was the summer of 1991. Medeski, Martin and Wood eventually signed to Blue Note Records and are still going strong, 13 years and some eight studio albums later.