Josh B Wood Music


COMPOSER	PERCUSSIONIST	BIO	RESUME	CONTACT

I was born and raised in NYC by artist parents who encouraged me to follow my bliss.
As my mother has always said, I've been playing drums since 'in utero',
and I've been tapping on things for as long as I can remember.

I started drumming in a free after school group program in sixth grade with
drummer Jesse Wallace, later joining the rock bands for middle and high school.

Occasionally, you could find me playing in the window of the local Barnes & Noble for
a school fundraiser. (see photo at right)

As a teenager, I had a tremendous curiosity about all styles of music, and developed
a love for everything from Classical to Metal. With a particular interest in percussion
as a facet of world cultures, I researched rhythms and music from around the globe.
And I searched for Metal music from Armenia to Pakistan. I was largely self-taught
up through high school, and studied the drummers I admired online, from
Bobby Jarzombek to Buddy Rich.

When I was a senior in high school, my artist dad, Erik Wood—my best friend, was diagnosed with advanced metastatic kidney cancer.
Less than a year later, I lost him, just days after I started college at the school he and I dreamed of my going to: Berklee College of
Music. It broke my heart to leave him, but he insisted, and I knew that he was filled with pride and joy that I had made it there.

Immediately following my 2007 audition at Berklee, although I couldn't read a note,
they told me I 'could groove', and that they could teach me what I didn't know—
including music theory and how to read.

During my four years at Berklee, I had the privilege of studying
with some of the world's greatest drummers and percussionists,
including Mike Mangini, Rod Morgenstein, Steve Wilkes, Egguie Castrillo
and Victor Mendoza, to name a few.
One of the best things about being there was the exposure to
musicians from all over the world, and what they brought with them,
and I now have friends and colleagues from every inhabited continent.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree, Performance Major,
Drum Set Principal, and was a recipient of a Berklee Achievement Scholarship award.

But, best of all, I learned the tools that have enabled me to develop the music
I'd been hearing in my head. In fact, while at Berklee, I realized that,
while I still love playing percussion, my true love is composing.

I have always had an open ear, a hunger for new sounds.

My compositions are quite varied. I like experimenting with instrumentation
of all kinds, and enjoy writing music for large ensembles.

I also love world music and some of my music combines
instruments and styles that wouldn't ordinarily be thought of together.

Metal East Suite, Berklee Senior Recital 2011

For my senior recital, I had 37 musicians in various combinations from 15 different countries—as diverse as Australia, Fiji,
Nigeria, Palestine, Russia, Turkey, Venezuela, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—playing four of my original compositions:
- Mouse Maze Medley, a medley of video game music I composed for an online game.
- Pandemic and Kashif, two Latin/Caribbean/Metal hybrid pieces featuring steelpan. I am working on an album of this music.
- Metal East Suite, my 17-piece finale. I hope to record this Middle Eastern/Metal hybrid piece, featuring the 72-string Qanun,
with a full orchestra and choir.

Since graduation, I've been composing music that defies categorization, featuring instruments from all over the world in
in unique combinations, sometimes utilizing world rhythms and complex polyrhythms, and in many different genres.

I have also been composing music for film. I am inspired by the challenge of
writing music to help bring a story to life, and to uniquely complement and
enhance each project that I'm involved with.

I write all the music for my brother, Evan B Wood's films, and we look
forward to collaborating for many years to come! You can watch our
collaborations, Sore Eyes, and Help Wanted, from the COMPOSER page of my site.

Our latest collaboration is his new project, Just Another Runner, a documentary
series that aims to celebrate the human spirit and its limitless potential by placing a
spotlight on the running community, where ordinary people achieve extraordinary things.

You can also check out videos of some of my other original compositions and
film scoring on the COMPOSER page of my site.

If you are a filmmaker and interested in having me score your film, please CONTACT me.

BAZAAR is my current band.
I love what is known as "world music". BAZAAR is a project that you can say began quite by accident
one night in 2015, when on the way home from a rehearsal, I stopped to jam with a young Turkish
guy who was playing Flamenco guitar in the middle of Bryant Park. A wonderful parnership was begun.
Soon after, a violin was added, and we played our first shows.
Two violinists later, with Samantha, we had found our unique sound—and our name becoming what we are today.

BAZAAR blends a variety of global acoustic styles using energetic, inventive
arrangements, and drawing on influences from across the Near East and Europe—
spicing up melodies from Turkey and Iran with Spanish, Balkan, and even Celtic
elements. This ensemble's instrumental sets can best be described as a celebratory,
cross-cultural conversation among good friends. Members include violinist
Samantha Gillogly, guitarist/saz-player Fahri Evren Kaya, and me on
hand percussion. Bazaar has performed around New York City at venues such as
The Beast Next Door, Ta-Da! Youth Theater, Bohemian Hall, and Nuyorican
Poets Cafe.

In the Spring of 2018, through a highly competitive audition process, BAZAAR
becamepart of the coveted MUNY (Music Under New York) program.

You may catch us at Fulton Street, Union Square or Grand Central station
one evening! Follow us at BazaarBandNYC on Facebook!