Keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood brought the organ-trio format to the modern jam-band era. All three have roots in New York's downtown improvisational world, working with innovators like Bob Moses (who originally brought the trio together) and John Zorn. Yet they maintain a sense of funk and groove that keeps their music accessible. An onstage collaboration with Phish in 1995 became a much-traded tape and endeared the trio to the jam circuit. Later collaborators, including guitarists John Scofield and Nels Cline, have added their own energy to the band.