Event Calendar
Thursday, April 25, 2013, 8:00 pm
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Medeski, Martin, & Wood
Wide open: That's the phrase John Medeski uses to describe his bandmates' musical sensibilities, the attitude he seeks in himself, and the spirit of musical adventure that Medeski Martin & Wood have pursued for two decades.
The trio's amalgam of jazz, funk, "avant-noise" and a million other musical currents and impulses is nearly impossible to classify, which is just how they like it. Medeski's keyboard excursions, Chris Wood's hard-charging bass lines and Billy Martin's supple, danceable beats have come to resemble a single organism, moving gracefully between genre-defying compositions and expansive improvisation atop a relentless groove.
Their reflections on having reached the extraordinary milestone of playing together for some 20 years? "We're old, man," Medeski replies with a laugh, adding, "We're in a really good place. We've been writing a lot of new music. We always want to create a certain vibration in the evening – if we're doing something new and feeling the excitement, that'll do it."
"I think we'll be reflecting on the anniversary a lot, pulling out old material and approaching it in new ways," ventures Wood. "We're always growing and changing, and the fact that we're always doing stuff with other people keeps it alive, because we bring fresh energy to the group."
"Musically, we're changing all the time," Martin asserts, adding that the band's constant improvisation produces moments when "We look at each other like, 'Oh my God, how in the hell did we just decide to do that?' We look at each other with our mouths open sometimes, and that's the beautiful thing about it."
"This band is each of us expressing who we really are," summarizes Medeski. "That's all." And so Medeski Martin & Wood enter their third decade together, as wide open as ever.
Level I: $55
Level II: $45
Economy: $35