Photo by Bahram Foroughi
Over the weekend, MMW keyboardist John Medeski, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Joe Russo came together for a pair of improv-heavy New York performances. On Friday, the trio—whose members have crossed paths in various contexts for almost two decades—held court at New York’s Brooklyn Bowl. During the two-set performance, Medeski, Russo and Cline invited out both horn player Stuart Bogie and beatboxer Kaila Mullady during the second half of their performance. Roze performs as Kaiser Roze with Freestyle Love Supreme, the musical freestyle rap group started by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Veneziale that appeared on Broadway a few years ago. Bogie is a frequent guest with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and a member of the drummer’s Selcouth Quartet. He has also worked with Medeski for years, dating back to his tenure with Antibalas.

Then, last night, Medeski, Russo and Cline headlined Woodstock, NY’s recently refurbished Bearsville Theater, near where both the keyboardist and guitarist are currently based. Early in their second set, the three musicians invited out another area resident, keyboardist Marco Benevento, for an improvisational segment. Soon after, Phish bassist Mike Gordon emerged and joined the quartet for another extended improvisational movement.

Friends since childhood, Benevento and Russo spent years touring together as The Duo and are now both members of JRAD. They have collaborated on the road with Gordon since 2004 and jammed with him individually as recently as last year—Russo and Gordon at Sultan Room in New York and Benevento and Gordon at Bearsville this past June—yet the three players have not shared the stage at the same time since the Suwanee Hulaween festival in 2017.

Both Gordon and Bogie will join Taper’s Choice at New York’s Brooklyn Bowl this Wednesday, January 15, as part of a show celebrating Relix’s 50th anniversary. JRAD kicks off a run at Port Chester, NY’s Capitol Theatre on Friday.