Call it A Tale of Two Brothers.
 
Oliver Wood played guitar. He moved to Atlanta, honed his instrumental and vocal chops, and formed one of the Southeast’s most popular rock bands, King Johnson.
 
Chris Wood played bass. He moved to New York, immersed himself in the city’s lively jazz-and-improv scene, and formed the internationally acclaimed instrumental trio called Medeski Martin & Wood.
 
Now, their divergent paths meet at the crossroads of a striking new recording: Ways Not to Lose, the debut album by The Wood Brothers, set for release March 7, 2006 on Blue Note Records.
 
The songs—sung and largely composed by Oliver Wood—possess a timeless quality: Their bedrock melodies and astutely observed stories sound instantly archetypal. There are echoes of country blues, Appalachian bluegrass, and New Orleans R&B. Oliver’s inimitable vocals—yearning, rueful, jubilant—are set within expressive yet economical arrangements created by his own impressionistic (electric and National steel-bodied) guitar riffs, Chris’ nimble, note-bending bass lines, and the textural percussion of Kenny Wollesen on several tracks. 
 
The twelve tracks that comprise Ways Not To Lose were recorded in one week of September 2005 at Allaire Studios in bucolic Shokan, New York. Nearly all the tracking was done with the musicians playing live, together in one room. The sessions were produced by Medeski Martin & Wood keyboards wizard John Medeski and engineered by S. Husky Höskulds (whose session credits include the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Fiona Apple, and Solomon Burke, among many others).
 
“This was the first time I’d done a whole album with a producer,” says Oliver, “and I thought it would be hard to relinquish control. But it was actually good to let go and allow John to tell us when the music sounded right and when it didn’t.”
 
“Medeski actually has worked a lot with singers,” notes Chris, “so this was not a new thing for him. He loved Oliver’s writing, singing, and playing—he really wanted to work with us on this album.”
 
The Story So Far
  
Oliver and Christopher Wood were born in California before moving with their parents to Boulder, Colorado. Their father, Bill Wood, is a Harvard-trained microbiologist—but in the late Fifties, he also was active as a singer and guitarist on the Boston-Cambridge folk revival scene. In 1959, Bill Wood performed three duets with his good friend Joan Baez (as well as several solo tracks) on the album Folksingers 'Round Harvard Square—Joan’s first commercially available recordings.
 
“My first experience of live music was from my father—picking and singing folk and country songs, around the campfire or the living room,” Oliver Wood recalls. “For a rather shy, unassuming guy, once he got the guitar in his lap, he could really entertain a room full of people. That was always an inspiration to me.
 
“My dad’s record collection included some Beatles but also Josh White and Pete Seeger, and bluegrass artists like Doc Watson and Flatt & Scruggs. I think one of his friends brought over some albums by Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. That’s how I got exposed to the more raw sounds of slide guitar and harp playing.”
 
For Oliver, a shy and laconic teenager, “the idea of playing in front of people was a scary thought.” Chris Wood, on the other hand, became “a full-on music geek” while still in junior high. After his older brother had taught him the rudiments of electric bass, Chris began formal lessons on the acoustic upright. He played in the Boulder High School jazz band, sang in the madrigal choir, and was working local jazz gigs well before his graduation.
 
After studying at the New England Conservatory of Music, Chris Wood landed in New York and met John Medeski. In 1991, they joined forces with drummer Billy Martin to form Medeski Martin & Wood. MMW have toured the world and released eleven albums to date including 2004’s acclaimed Blue Note set End of the World Party (just in case).
 
Oliver Wood attended the University of California-Santa Cruz for a few years before relocating to Atlanta. His first full-time gig was playing second guitar with Atlanta bluesman Tinsley Ellis, an important early mentor who encouraged him to sing as well as play. After two years of roadwork and recording with Ellis, Oliver felt ready to form his own band.
 
King Johnson was founded in 1995 as a trio with Oliver (guitar), Chris Long (bass and vocals), and Greg Baba (drums), then expanded to a six-piece with the addition of sax, trombone, and percussion. King Johnson’s good-time blend of New Orleans funk, blues, jazz, Latin, and rock earned the band a devoted Southeast following and steady sales for its five albums.
 
“Then about three years ago, MMW played a show in Winston-Salem [North Carolina] on a double bill with King Johnson,” Chris Wood recalls. “Oliver sat in with us—he just played guitar, didn’t sing. But he was so good and so familiar—it was eerie, almost like watching myself play. And he was great—Medeski and Martin thought so, too. Even though we’d been pursuing music in two very different worlds, we shared a perspective that made our collaboration feel really natural.”
 
During a family gathering in the summer of 2004, The Wood Brothers began working up some tunes, rearranging some King Johnson songs, and recording their first demos. In December 2004, the duo retreated to a studio near Chris’ home in Saugerties, New York, to create a more professional demo—one that soon elicited an offer from Blue Note.
 
Meanwhile, Chris and Oliver began playing gigs as a duo in the early spring of 2005. In September, they entered Allaire Studios to record Ways Not To Lose.
 
Chris: “We’re both seasoned by road experience and in dealing with all aspects of the business. I feel like we really have things to teach each other, but we have so much in common—it kind of blows my mind.”
 
Oliver: “The gigs have just gotten better and better, this whole year. It’s the two of us yet I don’t feel like anything’s missing. We’re able to imply the groove of a bigger band. And it’s a nice easy load-in, too!”