Medeski Martin and Wood
February 27th, 2008
Stumbling into a performance by John Medeski isn’t all that difficult in New York City — I’ve recently seen him with The Word, Warren Haynes, and John Scofield, (and he’s all over the I’m Not There soundtrack) — but his original groove jazz combo has proven much more elusive lately.
So on Saturday, Dan, Jocelyn, and I took the quick roadtrip up to the Fairfield Arts Center in Bridgeport, CT for a healthy dose of MMW. I expected Bubblehouse and other well-worn MMW tunes, but this year, the trio is up to new tricks. They got together to write new songs before the tour, they’re expanding them during the shows, and they’ll then return to the studio to record an album. They plan on repeating this process in the summer and fall for three new Medeski Martin and Wood albums this year.
The new material was mesmerizing. Fresh, unheard-of grooves, mercurially shifting between jazzy, spacey, freaky, and funky, sometimes ripping in that balls-to-the-wall MMW style, sometimes cute, like when Medeski played the B3 with his melodica. When one of the befuddled ushers tried to make me move in the middle of an extended improvisation, I was so absorbed I could barely defend my seat. I’m looking forward to the album evolving out of this and just might have to get their kids’ CD Let’s Go Everywhere for my niece.
Here’s a video of “Think”:
The Word
December 30th, 2007
Any project featuring John Medeski is worth whatever Manhattan venues deem to charge, and The Word is no exception. A high-powered gospel/funk/jam outfit featuring Medeski, sacred steel guitarist Robert Randolph, as well as Luther Dickinson, brother Cody, and Chris Chew of the North Mississippi All-Stars, The Word has not played together since Bonnaroo 2005.
Thursday night’s reunion/revival went down at Terminal 5, a brand-new venue way west on on 56th Street with a capacity of 3,000 heads. Supertight hallways and bad crowd management made the place feel like a death trap, but once inside, all was well — especially when the sweet sounds of the Word hit. Using traditionals (and one White Stripes cover) as jumping-off points for gleeful, uplifting improv, they worked their way through a setlist that also included covers of tunes by Stevie Wonder and James Brown as well as the occasional Zeppelin tease.
But you’re better off listening to the music than reading about it, so check out the clips below. My favorite moments included the crowd-surfing maniac during “I Shall Not Be Moved” and the ill shit Medeski was doing to “When the Saints Go Marching In,” which I hadn’t heard live since Springsteen broke every heart at Jazzfest. A special shout out to Ducky from Alaska, whom I see but once a year, and only at shows surrounding the holidays.
Two videos — one from Thursday with a snippet of “Joyful Sounds”, and one TV appearance from a few years ago:
Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood @ Bowery Ballroom
November 28th, 2006
Heady, like getting your frontal lobes kneaded by a slightly sadistic masseuse, but with a booty-shaking happy ending.
- Comments/partial setlist on the MMW forums
- Pretty good photos I’m not allowed to blog
- Out Louder
- MMW
Two tunes for your enjoyment: a very pretty “Julia” …
[audio:MSMW - Julia.mp3]
…and, more representative, the set-closing “Hottentot” from the Electric Factory in Philly the week previous:
[audio:MSMW - Hottentot.mp3]
[tags]music, john medeski, billy martin, chris wood, john scofield, jazz, funk, nyc, bowery ballroom, shows, audio[/tags]
