Billy Martin on Finding Harmony in Rhythm and Life

The drummer and percussionist Billy Martin, whose name many Time Sensitive listeners may recognize—he created the Time Sensitive theme song—defies any boxed-in or limiting definitions of his work. Best known as a member of the band Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW), he’s spent the past three-plus decades making experimental, boundary-pushing, and uncategorizable instrumental jazz-funk-groove music, shaping sounds that feel as expansive as they are definitive and distinctive. Across all his artistic output, Martin continually, meditatively searches for harmony. He is also a composer, a teacher, a visual artist, and a builder and craftsman. His expansive creative practice comes most alive at his home in Englewood, New Jersey, where he has cultivated a bamboo garden, crafted his own Japanese-style teahouse, and constructed a music studio. Martin is someone for whom rhythm is not just something heard, but also seen and felt. On the episode, he talks about his MMW journey at length, his concept of “rhythmic harmony,” and why he views sound creation as a sacred act. Special thanks to our Season 11 presenting sponsor, Van Cleef & Arpels. Show notes: Billy Martin [05:56] Medeski Martin & Wood [05:56] John Medeski [05:56] Chris Wood [05:56] “Not Not Jazz” (2024) [08:36] Iggy Pop’s “Avenue B” (1999) [08:36] Don Was [09:51] “The Lover” (1995) [09:51] “Friday Afternoon in the Universe” (1995) [09:51] “Old Angel Midnight” (1973) by Jack Kerouac [12:08] Ra-Kalam Bob Moses [12:08] John Scofield [12:08] David Baker [14:21] “Shuck It Up” (1993) [14:21] “It’s a Jungle in Here” (1993) [16:36] “Latin Shuffle” (1998) [16:36] “Combustication” (1998) [16:36] Frankie Malabe [16:36] Art Blakey [31:23] Thelonious Monk [31:23] “Life on Drums” (2011) [35:43] John Bonham [35:43] Charlie Watts [35:43] Stewart Copeland [35:43] Elvin Jones [35:43] Max Roach [35:43] Danny Richmond [35:43] Charles Mingus [35:43] Jack DeJohnette [35:43] Joe Morello [35:43] Roy Haynes [35:43] Stan Getz [35:43] Airto Moreira [35:43] Naná Vasconcelos [35:43] Babatunde Olatunji [37:06] Gus Johnson [37:06] “Whatever Happened to Gus” (1998) [37:06] Steve Cannon [38:05] “Chubb Sub” (1995) [38:05] ”Uncle Chubb” (1992) [43:53] “Shack-man” (1996) [44:18] “Drumming Birds” (2004) [51:59] “Bamboo Rainsticks” (1999) [51:59] Amulet Records [56:58] Creative Music Studio