Each of these musicians assembled by Ribot for this night are masters at their own instruments, with time under their belts, and experience mixing with other fellow travelers and elders like Cecil Taylor, Rashid Ali, Derek Bailey, Milford Graves, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Caetano Veloso, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Zorn, and numerous others. It really can’t be understated, any one of these players could headline their own bill, draw a crowd in their own right, but together they make up a core group with tremendous chemistry, energy, and ability to anticipate what’s going to come next, so much so that the almost sold-out crowd, on this Thursday night, never tired of the spontaneity.

This night was an opportunity for the four to each make hefty musical contributions, and back each other superbly while ripping into traditional elements, turning them inside out at times, reaching for a new expression through melody and dissonance. Ribot led through extended solos on top of constantly inspired percussion and rhythm from Cyrille and Parker, with Medeski vamping and pulsing along at the keys, but only as long as needed, because each of them, when urged along by the spirit of the music, were ready and alert for the opening for their own segments, their own solos, and all of them in turn displayed virtuosic ability to turn on a dime and echo the trail of the rhythm of each song as they furthered on into their own solos.

It’s common knowledge around these parts (aka NYC), that a show involving Marc Ribot or John Medeski will prove challenging

and rewarding, mostly in the same breath, but on a night like this one, with the addition of William Parker on bass and Andrew Cyrille on percussion, both of these musical effects were heightened, and the sophisticated level of playing left most people in the audience marvelling at their good fortune in having been present. It’s a good thing to be in NYC, when great shows like this come around.