John Mayer Trio - History

History

In 2005, Mayer and Jordan had committed to a telethon on NBC, with bassist Willie Weeks entitled Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope to raise funds and public awareness benefiting victims in the aftermath of the tsunami that struck southeast Asia. However, as the date arrived, Weeks was unable to make the gig, and Jordan suggested high profile bassist Pino Palladino instead. When the three joined to play, they noted a chemistry between them, and formed the Trio to play what Mayer called, "power-rockin', electric-guitar, in-your-face blues." In October 2005 the band toured as the opening act for The Rolling Stones on some A Bigger Bang Tour dates. As feedback from the tour began pouring in, the reviews were a polarizing mix; commenting on the Trio's October 6, 2005 show, Alan Light, with Rolling Stone, said, "Make no mistake: One-time Berklee College of Music student Mayer is a badass guitar player. Backed by studio aces Steve Jordan on drums and Pino Palladino on bass...his blues playing was consistently impressive." "But", he added, "he's a bit too eager to impress."

In February 2005, the trio played Mayer's single "Daughters" at the 47th Grammy Awards, for which Mayer went on to win the award for Best Male Vocal Performance later that night (though the Trio performed, the act was announced only as "John Mayer"). The Trio released "Come When I Call" exclusively to iTunes. While Rolling Stone said the for-download-only single "screams vanity project", they conceded that "Mayer is a surprisingly convincing mini Stevie Ray Vaughan" and gave the song three out of four stars. Another reviewer noted that "mixed in with the Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton-esque music, there are a few mellow numbers", notably from Mayer's Heavier Things.