Medeski, Martin and Wood
Mass. MOCA
North Adams
Dec. 6

Winter colors leapt through the Massachusetts night and perched upon our shoulders; dark skies and white nights crept softly near as we stood shivering beneath the street light. I followed my footsteps toward the door as it seemed the evening might swallow me whole were I not to press forward.

Inside, my thoughts turned toward the journey here. The year’s first great snowstorm had served as decoration for our transit: a nervous, two-hour jaunt down Route 2. Zero visibility and a growing anxiety over the safety of our voyage made our intentions seem questionable, but we never lost sight of why we had left the comfortable confines of Orchard Hill.

There was a show tonight.

And it was that faint glimmer of inspiration that carried us all the way to North Adams. There, beneath the cold, December night, Medeski, Martin and Wood would throw down a set of improvised music, the likes of which no words could describe.

Frank Zappa said it best: “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” But I’m going to try.

Brooklyn-based neo-jazzers Medeski, Martin and Wood first took the stage together in 1991; 13 years and 13 records later, MMW finished their fall ’03 tour at Mass. MOCA.

And the environment of this locale was more than appropriate for the boys. The funky, avant-museum’s upside-down trees (you’ll have to see it to believe it) were telltale signs of what was to come.

As we stepped inside the building’s Hunter Center auditorium, we knew we were in for no ordinary show. Manic swirls of organ and sinister, sinuous bass lines cascaded across dirty jazz rhythms and dope hip-hop beats. The games had begun.

Early in the set, following a tremendously soulful piece navigated by John Medeski’s Hammond B3, the trio broke into “Just Like I Pictured It,” a cut off their 1998 Blue Note debut, “Combustication.” Chris Wood’s funky, ostinato line left plenty of room for Medeski’s inimitable, freaky keys work and Billy Martin’s expert, sloppy beats to cavort and converge. The tune’s jazzy coda found Medeski on acoustic piano, filling up the space his crack rhythm section afforded him.

“Note Bleu” followed soon after, a bossa nova blues showcasing a simple, infectious melody. Medeski’s improvisations over this tune, while frantic as ever, were gorgeous and expressive; Wood’s bass work was airtight and aggressive.

The boys busted out some new stuff, too. A hip-hop piece with a nasty synth-melody made the crowd move, and a new funk number including sections where Wood’s bass drops out and leaves Martin and Medeski to duel left this writer gasping for breath as the intensity of the tune just grew and grew.

Following the frenzy incited by their new material, Wood, on upright, ripped into a solo improvisation as Martin and Medeski left the stage. Snarling, he tore into his bass, running up and down the neck with impossibly fast accuracy and precision. And just when you thought the strings might break beneath the pressure he exerted over them, the world’s tightest bass player broke into a familiar groove.

“Chubb Sub,” an MMW classic, carried the crowd to boogaloo heaven and capped off the set. One of their biggest songs, the group kicked this tune like it was the last tune they’d ever play.

But there would be one more. When the boys emerged for their encore, the cacophonous crowd threatened to drown out the music. But when Medeski, Martin and Wood took to their instruments for one final tune, a hush fell over the freaks in attendance.

“I Wanna Ride You,” a John Medeski original, concluded the trio’s performance in typical MMW form. A gospel-influenced piece, the boys funked this one out until it was time for their big finish.

John Medeski took up his melodica (a hand-held mix between a harmonica and piano), Chris Wood removed the microphone from his upright, and Billy Martin picked up his cuica, a small drum. The three moved to the front of the stage and finished their tune completely acoustic; the crowd grew unfathomably quiet. A passage with an island vibe ensued, closed, and three of the world’s most talented musicians were gone.

Riding home down Route 2, amidst a blizzard and decidedly hazardous driving conditions, all we wanted was a second set. MMW, one of the jazz world’s most electrifying ensembles, will tour Japan in January. Mass. MOCA welcomes the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra early next year.