Concert: Medeski Martin & Wood Come to LA's EL Rey Theater on FEB. 18

The El Rey Theater (www.theelrey.com/) will be the place to be for a night of soul, funk, hip hop, trip hop, and free jazz on Thursday, February 18. Medeski Martin & Wood (www.mmw.net/) will be in Los Angeles to celebrate the release of "Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set," a box set on Indirecto Records. The music is the culmination of a two-year series. The New York-based band, formed in 1991, are known for their improvisational journeys during their live shows. The El Rey concert is sure to be a memorable event.

The trio consists of original members John Medeski on piano and Hammond B3 organ, Billy Martin on drums and percussion, and Chris Wood on double bass and bass guitar. The group has released several albums, and each successive one has made it harder to pin them down to a musical category. They seem to blend genres, jumping from pop-rock swagger to funk-lilt to classical meditation. Their live performances take the listeners on a journey through their catalog of material.

Medeski Martin & Wood's new music collection, "Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set"

The El Rey show will feature versions of tunes from the "Radiolarian" series that began in 2008 and spanned three CD releases. The series was designed to break from the standard music-industry cycle of write>record>tour. The trio convened for brief writing retreats, performed only the new material on tour, and recorded the songs immediately after getting off the road. The band repeated this process three times while touring in different regions of the U.S. and South America. "Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set" includes all three CDs, a disc with bonus tracks, a 10-track disc of remixed music, a previously unreleased 70-minute live album, a double-vinyl LP set consisting of highlights from the three "Radiolarians" albums, plus a DVD feature film entitled "Fly in a Bottle," directed by Billy Martin.

The El Rey Theater is located at 5515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036; 323-936-6400. Doors at 8 p.m.; the show is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance, $32 day of the show. To guarantee entry, purchase tickets in advance at the theater box office or from Ticketmaster: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0900434FADDE96A3?brand=elrey. (Ticketmaster convenience charges make the price $36.15)

[Andy J. Gordon is a Los Angeles-based marketing and strategy consultant who made his writing debut in “Brentwood” magazine in 2007. His interests include music, sports, consumer electronics, premium libations, fine dining, travel, fast cars, and enjoying life.]