Warship My Organs made its annual return to New Orleans for a late-night showdown between B-3 greats John Medeski and Wil Blades with support from DJ Logic.
Last year, the dual organ melee occupied a late-night slot during the “daze between” Jazz Fest weekends at One Eyed Jacks with Medeski, Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch, and saxophonist Skerik alongside Robert Walter (Mike Gordon, The Greyboy Allstars) and surprise guest Neal Francis. For 2023, organizers Live For Live Music and GMP Live pushed the performance to the larger The Howlin’ Wolf and a second Saturday, extra late 1:30 a.m. time slot to give even more fans the chance to revel in the rare magic of this perennial Jazz Fest season highlight.
The band sounded a little different with just 50% returning and 50% new. Wil Blades joined Warship My Organs veterans Medeski and Deitch in the place of Robert Walter, who is currently on tour in Europe with Roger Waters, and Lettuce trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom filled in for Skerik, who was forced to cancel all of his Jazz Fest gigs at the last minute due to a freak shoulder injury. Even with the fresh faces, Warship My Organs stayed true to tradition with a soulful, funky, psychedelic maelstrom of organ-based classics and exploratory jams.
Blades’ understated style, developed under the tutelage of jazz master Dr. Lonnie Smith, was a perfect complement to Medeski’s experimental “avant groove” approach. Blades provided the low end as well, playing bass with his left hand and feet while fending off Medeski with his right hand, and Deitch’s relentless pocket anchored the group. Bloom meanwhile added layers of brass and psychedelic effects not unlike Skerik’s spacey sax sounds, but, like Skerik, with a jazz-informed sensibility to keep the sonic explorations somewhat grounded.
Click below to view photos from Warship My Organs featuring John Medeski, Wil Blades, Adam Deitch, and Eric “Benny” Bloom courtesy of photographer Jason Steger below.
The post PHOTOS: Warship My Organs Brings New Life To A Jazz Fest Tradition With John Medeski, Wil Blades, More appeared first on L4LM.
