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Live review: Medeski, Martin & Wood
In the documentary ‘Icons Among Us,’ which aired on TV earlier this year, keyboardist John Medeski said that jazz musicians are never going to be given anything. They’re going to have to go out there and take it.
Medeski, Martin and Wood have been going out and taking it for the better part of two decades now, and today at 2:30 p.m. on the Livestrong Stage was no different.
The band took the stage to a small but appreciative crowd and proved to be the perfect vessel for many fest goers to set their weekend off to sail.
After an opening tune that featured Medeski playing a claviola and had the band building to a crescendo then backing off to settle into some quiet spaces, the band lit into some swampy funk on their second tune. Bassist Chris Wood switched from lilting sounds reminiscent of Jaco Pastorius to the electric-guitar-sounding root notes he played high on the neck of his bass.
That gave way to some playful Sesame Street funk, not a surprising milieu, as the band recently recorded a children’s album.
When Wood switched to upright bass, his deep notes conjured a soft breeze, and with Billy Martin toying with bells, the jam took on a Charles Mingus/late John Coltrane vibe that let people slide into the day’s proceedings.
Not surprising for a band who’s last album was titled ‘Let’s Go Everywhere,’ the guys spent the rest of their set sliding easily from New Orleans funk to Chicago blues and zydeco. The set highlighted each member’s strengths and versatility, all three playing with precision and power, not afraid to go to quiet spaces or erupt in combustible fury.
The only drawback was the longing it evoked in those of us who would like to see the trio play an aftershow at a small, dark club.
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