The two-week music mecca that is New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival kicked off last weekend on April 28th, starting the annual congregation of an abundance of world-class musicians that goes down each spring. In the days between (a.k.a. Daze Between) the festival’s first and second weekend, the magic keeps happening, with endless shows, preplanned or not, that allow musicians the freedom to collaborate with the other musical wonders that similarly flock to the city this time of year. Last night, the avant-garde funk-infused jazz trio that is Medeski, Martin, & Wood took to the Civic Theatre and asked Nels Cline of Wilco fame to join them for the star-studded performance.

Lettuce, Oteil, Medeski, And More Play Through First Jazz Fest Weekend [Photos]

The collaboration between guitarist Nels Cline with pianist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood should not come as too much of a surprise to fans who have kept watch on the four renowned musicians’ going-ons. In August 2013, Medeski, Martin, & Wood and Cline joined forces for an intimate performance (doubling as a recording session) at Applehead Studios in Woodstock, New York, for the second installment of the increasingly legendary Woodstock Sessions. Both in that album and during last night’s performance, Cline’s guitar stylings are a welcome addition to round out the ambient and experimental sounds of Medeski, Martin, & Wood, frequently pushing the group to explore the depth of the boundless sound they’re able to create with the addition of a fourth instrument.

Outside of the Woodstock Sessions and last night’s performance at the Civic Theatre in New Orleans, the experimental jazz quartet has previously brought their avant-garde and chaotic music to other stages, including the Cully Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 2016. You can watch their full performance from last summer below, courtesy of Rodney Benward. You can also check out a gallery from Medeski, Martin, Wood, & Cline’s show last night below, courtesy of Chad Anderson.

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