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Medeski Martin & Wood: Free Magic

Indirecto

As much fun as it is to trance dance to them at their organ-grinding best, it is in the acoustic arena where John Medeski, Chris Wood and Billy Martin truly let their powers of improvisational interplay reveal themselves in their rawest essence. And 12 years after their groundbreaking Tonic LP (and two following their limited edition live CD benefiting John Zorn’s East Village performance space The Stone), MMW showcase their uncanny skills in the unplugged setting once again with Free Magic on their own Indirecto Records imprint. Culled from their first-ever, all-acoustic tour in 2007, the trio delve deep into their love for such post-bop giants as Ahmad Jamal and Cecil Taylor throughout the course of this five-song highlight set, buoyed by a drastic reworking on “Where’s Sly?” from 1993’s It’s a Jungle in Here and a masterful medley of Charles Mingus’ “Nostalgia in Times Square” and Sun Ra’s “Angel Race.” Magic, indeed.