METROACTIVE.COMIn the dank smoke and glowing yellow lights, the three men of Medeski, Martin, and Wood lined up side by side on stage, ready to take an overcrowded room of people into new musical territory. “They play jazz, but they’re also kinda funky and weird sometimes,” I told my friend on the car ride there. I thought he was the only one who didn’t know what to expect. However, murmurs of minds blown and ears awed could be heard throughout the crowd exiting the show.
The trio stuck to true jazz form: emphasizing improvisation while exploring new directions in music. But Medeski, Martin, and Wood happened upon new interpretations of their own songs, stretching the boundaries of rhythm, melody, and harmony. Billy Martin sat at stage left, settled into organic beats, clanking and clacking away at a barrage of percussion pieces. At center stage was Chris Wood, dividing his time and fingerwork between the natural tones of the upright and buzzing electric effects of the bass. Wood and Martin showed that novel creation of music is one part innovation to one part adaptation. Without new developments in the realm of jazz and funk, they would be just another organ trio, but through experimentation, they were able to lead us beyond traditional jazz idioms.
The leader of the band, John Medeski, stood at his feet for most of two and a half hours, dividing his time between manipulation of the Hammond b3 organ, synthesizer, and piano. He often seemed like what their website calls a “mad scientist” at the operating table, shocking new life into the music with careful stresses of the fingers. And he was not content to play a song before turning the beat around, upside down, and then off into space.
Songs played Friday night included audience pleasers such as the second set opening “Uninvincible” and an extended introduction to “Coconut Boogaloo.” Excitement beamed through the roof when the trio broke into Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic.” It seemed as if most of the night onlookers were unsure of whether they could dance to the beat or not, depending on the depth and weight of their groove. Although they dabbled and tinkered in experimental music, it would be an insult to call their jams free jazz. The liberties they took in escaping the borders of music were grounded in dirty, street-heavy rhythms.
Whether they were ready for it or not, everyone at Friday night’s show left feeling truly experienced.