Jam Cruise 22: Day 4 — The Medeski Martin & Wood Report
[Thanks as always to the amazing Jam Cruise photographers for their tireless work! These are by Zach Smith. More to come!]
Why Jam Cruise?
I’m glad you asked.
JAM Talks, synth playground, drum clinic, lip sync battle, costume exchange, Positive Legacy, port stops, great food, friends old and new, eight stages within a couple minutes of each other, and a very short drive back to your room are all on the list.
For most, however, it’s the music, the sort of music that just blows the mind, some of which can only happen on Jam Cruise. (I’ve never been on any other music cruise, but I suspect ours is practically unique.)
There are collaborations, sit-ins, and once-in-a-long time (if not a lifetime) events that simply boggle the mind.
With that in mind, let’s talk about the Medeski Martin & Wood set in the theater Tuesday. In order to set the scene, allow me some historical perspective.
The jam scene came from jazz, especially where bands would lay out the rhythm for soloists to dance over. Paul Gonsalves’ 26 choruses during “Diminuendo in Blue and Crescendo in Blue” from Ellington at Newport 1956 is a fine example, and sometimes two soloists would battle it out.
The rock’n’roll era began, and there were great players, but the improv scene was just evolving.
There came the emergence of the first so-called supergroup Cream, three musicians of stunning ability and all capable of soloing. We often think about “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Crossroads,” pretty standard rock. But then there was “Spoonful,” the live version, all 16:44 of it. For the first three minutes, the trio approached the blues standard from the standard perspective. And then it blew up. Everybody soloed… at once. This is not the Dash Rip Rock “Let’s Go Smoke Some Pot” version: “EVERYBODY SOLO.” Instead, we had three masters blowing our minds, soloing together. That song requires repeated listening. I recall initially listening to Eric Clapton, then hearing what Jack Bruce was doing at the same time on my second pass, and finally absorbing Ginger Baker’s contribution.
That, for me, helps describe the performance by Medeski Martin & Wood, three absolute titans. In my eight years on board, the only set to match it was Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz (Jam Cruise 18), where, after their set the first night, I observed: “If I’d had to leave Jam Cruise Wednesday morning after hearing Bastard Jazz, I would have gotten my money’s worth.”
To be sure, the MMW set was not everyone’s cup of tea. It was spacey, funky, avant garde, avant “groove” improvisational magic of the highest order. Was there structure? Of course, but on their terms.
Chris Wood worked back and forth between his upright bass and his electric. Billy Martin had his standard kit plus a host of percussive toys, most of which he employed at some point. And John Medeski sat at the mothership control room with Mellotron, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond B3 organ, clavinet, and another synthesizer. I was easy to focus on Medeski and then certainly on Wood; you had to pay more attention to catch Martin’s magic. They are players of astonishing talent and vision.
Martin played the sides of his drums and tambourine. Medeski whipped out his melodica. It was all so stunning, then they trotted out the perfect companion, Skerik and his tenor saxophone. They were blowing at a ridiculous pace, all Art Ensemble of Chicago and Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler and more. Skerik was talking through the horn and one point, just playing his mouthpiece.
Who then should stroll out but Benny Bloom, trumpet in hand. Somehow, they tumbled into a reasonably straight-ahead version of “Caravan,” the now-quintet simply afire. Bloom owned this. Occasionally it colored over the lines. Skerik walked off… and walked right back for more.
They did split as Martin observed, “We’ve never done a vocal tune before.” (I think that’s what he said.” With that, out came Datrian Johnson, a vocalist of astounding range from lowest lows to dancing falsetto. The tune was “Is There Anybody Here That Loves My Jesus”; recall Medeski performed with The Word. It was jaw-dropping.
Stage hands had been setting up mic stands for Skerik, Bloom, and Johnson, then removing them. Medeski teased fan favorite “Bubblehouse” with its increasing and decreasing tempos, and the crowd was really into it. As it approached fever pace, they set up two mic stands, and out came Skerik and Bloom for one more romp. It was spectacular. As the tune headed for the finish line, Skerik and Bloom appeared to walk off but instead walked all around the stage, pretending to blow.
A show for the ages for those on that wavelength.
Great thanks to Scott Bernstein for this:
[MMW: Sequel, The Lover, Seven Deadlies, Wiggly’s Way, Felic* > Nocturne**, Caravan**, Is There Anybody Here That Loves My Jesus”, Bubble House**]
* Skerik
** Skerik & Benny Bloom
” Datrian Johnson
[…] & Wood. I was so blown out by this performance that I have already posted a review of that set. PLEASE read it here. Legendary. This is why we Jam […]