The Wood Brothers are an American roots band consisting of brothers Chris (upright bass) and Oliver Wood (acoustic and electric guitars), as well as multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix. Their music is a combination of folk, gospel, blues and jazz.
Biography From early in their childhood in Boulder, Colorado, Chris and Oliver Wood were steeped in American roots music. Their late father, Bill Wood, was an esteemed scientist who had recorded on the 1960 album Folksingers ’Round Harvard Square with Joan Baez; he performed classic songs at camp fires and family gatherings, while their mother, a poet, instilled a passion for storytelling and turn of phrase. The brothers bonded over their shared appreciation of bluesmen such as Jimmy Reed and Lightnin' Hopkins, but their paths, musical and otherwise, diverged.
Oliver moved to Atlanta, where he played guitar in cover bands before earning a spot in Tinsley Ellis’s touring act. At Ellis’s behest, Oliver began to sing and then founded King Johnson, a hard-touring group that released six albums of blues-inflected R&B, funk and country over the next 12 years. Chris, meanwhile, studied jazz bass at the New England Conservatory of Music and moved to New York City. In 1992, Chris co-founded the innovative jazz fusion group Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW), which released two dozen albums over the next two decades.
After pursuing separate musical careers for some 15 years, the brothers performed together at a show in North Carolina on May 24, 2001: Oliver sat in with MMW following King Johnson’s opening set. "I realized we should be playing music together," Chris recalled.
Oliver talks about the formation of King Johnson and the influence of Sean Costello and Donnie McCormick, drummer and lead singer of Eric Quincy Tate, in a 2022 documentary by Hal Jacobs about his favorite Atlanta music club, the Northside Tavern.
Recordings The brothers recorded a collection of Oliver's songs to create a demo album. They landed a recording contract with Blue Note Records, who released their first studio album Ways Not To Lose in 2006. The album was produced by Chris's MMW colleague John Medeski, and recorded during September 2005 at Allaire Studios in Shokan, New York. Kenny Wolleson supported the duo on drums and percussion. Music critic Steve Leggett said that Oliver's lyrics showed him to be in a state of "perpetual spiritual dilemma" but with a "dogged hope that shines through between the cracks," the words carried on a bed of "sparse and languid" folk-blues music.
Their follow-up Loaded was released in 2008. The next year they released an EP of covers titled Up Above My Head. In 2011 the band moved recording to Nashville's Southern Ground Artists for Smoke Ring Halo, the band's first release on Zac Brown's Southern Ground label. Multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix joined the band during this period, adding his percussion and jazz piano skills, and providing vocals. In 2012 they released Live Volume One: Sky High and Live Volume Two: Nail & Tooth issued as two separate CDs or a double-LP vinyl gatefold package.
In October 2013, the Wood Brothers' fifth studio release, The Muse was released, with Buddy Miller serving as record producer. The album was recorded at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville. The Wood Brothers were by this time a Nashville-based band, with Oliver having relocated in 2012, and Chris following. It was the first time the brothers had lived in the same city since early adulthood.from an interview with Oliver Wood on the Americana Music Show #276, published December 8, 2015 The Muse provided the band with their first Billboard chart success, hitting the folk, country, indie and rock charts in late 2013.
The band's next album, Paradise was released in 2015 on the Easy Eye Sound label. Paradise was the first album in which all three bandmembers shared songwriting credits. Paradise was their most successful album up to that point, reaching number 1 on the Top Heatseekers chart, and number 12 on the US Country music chart.
On February 2, 2018, the Wood Brothers released their sixth full-length album, One Drop of Truth, which they self-produced and recorded. The album was nominated for the Best Americana Album award at the 61st Grammy Awards.
The group released their eighth studio album, Kingdom in My Mind in January 2020.
The group released their ninth studio album, Heart is the Hero in April 2023.
Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions Sales US Country US US Heat US Indie US Folk US Rock Ways Not to Lose Release date: March 7, 2006 Label: Blue Note Records — — — — — — Loaded Release date: April 1, 2008 Label: Blue Note Records — — 29 — — — Up Above My Head (8-song collection of covers) Release date: June 9, 2009 Label: Indirecto Records — — — — — — Smoke Ring Halo Release date: August 2, 2011 Label: Southern Ground — — 21 — — — The Muse Release date: October 1, 2013 Label: Southern Ground 22 145 3 28 10 44 Paradise Release date: October 2, 2015 Label: Honey Jar 12 — 1 25 6 43US: 3,100One Drop of Truth Release date: February 2, 2018 Label: Honey Jar 41 — 1 9 11 —US: 3,400Kingdom in My Mind Release date: January 24, 2020 Label: Honey Jar/Thirty TigersUS: 2,700Heart Is the Hero Release date: April 14, 2023 Label: Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Live albums Title Details Peak chart positions US Country Live at Tonic EP Release date: 2005 Label: Junketboy — Live: Volume One: Sky High Release date: May 8, 2012 Label: Southern Ground 73 Live: Volume Two: Nail and Tooth Release date: August 12, 2012 Label: Southern Ground —Live at the Barn Release date: January 13, 2017 Label: Honey Jar — Live at The Fillmore Release date: September 6, 2019 Recorded: March 8 & 9, 2019 Label: Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
References
External links
The Wood Brothers, 'The Muse': Exclusive Song and Album Art Paste: In The Studio With The Wood Brothers Oliver sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast for a feature interview Oliver talks about his musical influences and collaborations at Atlanta's Northside Tavern in a 2022 documentary The Wood Brothers at Blue Note Records Brothers in Arms: The Wood Brothers by Tim Newby of Honest Tune, 1/31/07. The Wood Brothers Live on NPR Streaming audio of The Wood Brothers performing on February 17, 2006