It's a bit weird to road test tunes and jams that were made mostly on the post in a live situation and then try to recapture that in the studio. That is what Medeski Martin & Wood did for the first installment of their Radiolarians series.
As usual they are on the fence overlooking the pastures of jazz and funk. They are not above branching out a bit, with a cheesy organ taking the lead in Sweet Pea Dreams, the kind of demented tune that would go down like a storm on a down-home party with lots of serious beverage and roasted chop sticks. The trio is at best when they embark on on dreaming up as what is best described as soundtracks for long lost films, like God Fire, Muchas Gracias (a Western theme with carefully placed bum notes), and Professor Nohair.
Radiolarians I sets a high standard for the other two parts what will eventually be part of the scheduled trilogy. And with this release those who attended the shows can finally put name tags on the improvised music they heard. Medeski Martin & Wood are on the road again in November.
Medeski Martin & Wood:
John Medeski: keyboards, piano
Billy Martin: drums, percussion
Chris Wood: double bass, bass guitar
Radiolarians I is a self-released on album. Buy it from the band.
Tracks:- First Light
- Cloud Wars
- Muchas Gracias
- Professor Nohair
- Reliquary
- Free Go Lily
- Rolling Son
- Sweet Pea Dreams
- God Fire
- Hidden Moon
- 11/12 Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
- 11/13 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
- 11/14 Aladdin Theatre, Portland, OR
- 11/15 McDonald Theatre, Eugene, OR
- 11/16 Van Duzer Theatre, Arcata, CA
- 11/18 McNears Mystic Theatre Petaluma, CA
- 11/19 Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA
- 11/20 Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
- 11/21 El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
- 11/22 John Ascuaga’s Nugget (Celebrity Showroom), Sparks, NV
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