John Medeski at World Cafe Live

“Solo concerts allow me to go deeper, to enter an inner universe, and bring some people along for the ride,” says keyboardist John Medeski. “You can work with sound and rhythm in a different way than in a band setting. It allows for a much more intimate experience.”
The celebrated musician, whose work with the trailblazing instrumental trio Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) and countless other collaborators have set a standard for soulful improvisation, has been preparing a new solo piano album that he says will kick off a series of such recordings, and is planning a suite of solo performances....

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“Solo concerts allow me to go deeper, to enter an inner universe, and bring some people along for the ride,” says keyboardist John Medeski. “You can work with sound and rhythm in a different way than in a band setting. It allows for a much more intimate experience.”
The celebrated musician, whose work with the trailblazing instrumental trio Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) and countless other collaborators have set a standard for soulful improvisation, has been preparing a new solo piano album that he says will kick off a series of such recordings, and is planning a suite of solo performances.
These creative excursions will no doubt elicit more praise like that bestowed by Chicago Tribune arts critic Howard Reich, who wrote of the 2005 Chicago Jazz Festival: “The revelation of the show came early, when pianist John Medeski … played a stunningly original solo set, establishing the virtuosity of his technique, the alacrity of his imagination and the depth of his knowledge of jazz history.”
Medeski has galvanized audiences in the U.S., Mexico, Japan and elsewhere with such solo performances, which he describes as “jazz, in the sense that stuff is left open for the moment,” but which reflect his classical training and passion for pop as much as his adoration of Monk and other jazz icons. These shows share one essential characteristic: “It’s just a piano in a room,” Medeski says. “Musically, it can go anywhere.”

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