Actually, that title doesn’t quite do it justice. Last fall, I happily discovered that Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin and Wood percussionist, one of the world’s great drummers - forgive the hyperbole but it’s true dat) was publishing a book via Kickstarter. Titled Wandering, the text would be comprised of Billy’s ‘Profound Roots’ writings originally published in the Japanese magazine, Rhythm & Drum. That was enough of a sell for me, but when I saw a chapter titled 'Building a Teahouse’ - well, in the excitement I ended up acquiring two copies. (OK, my wife got me one as a gift; I got the other.)

I figured I’d be sharing my thoughts on Wandering in some fashion - and maybe I still will. For now, for my own benefit as well as anyone else who loves Illy B’s output as much as I do, here’s a transcription of records mention by the man in Chapter 3, “Jazz Records That Changed Me.” Listed in the order mentioned:

When Elephants Dream of Music, by Bob Moses Visit with the Great Spirit, Bob Moses Word of Mouth, Jaco Pastorius Black Market, Weather Report Inventions and Dimensions, Herbie Hancock Ah Um, Charles Mingus Money Jungle, Mingus, Duke Ellington, and Max Roach Percussion Bitter Suite, Max Roach Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East (1970) Interstellar Space, John Coltrane As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita Falls, Pat Metheny Jumpin’ Punkins, Cecil Taylor Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, Chick Corea

Interesting also to read what Martin has to say about each record and why they matter to him; get a copy of Wandering if you can. A marvelous artist’s notebook.