Marvelous Medema

Driving to Abilene to hear the Ken Medema concert, I shared with the family my memories of Ken Medema in the 1970s. Having heard him several times while a teenager growing up in El Paso, I am convinced his music has made a profound impact on my own music and in some broad sense an impact on my life. Arriving 30 minutes early to the concert, we sat near the front so as to see the keys on the piano.

He arrived on stage at 7:00, sat down at the piano and began to play a medium paced funk-style song called "Texas Fourth of July." It was a fun little song intended to reach the audience of over a thousand people. He then moved into a furiously roiling mass of rhythmic and harmonic joy that served as an accompaniment to Brethren We Have Met to Worship. Covering the keyboard and shifting quickly and well in and out of tonality and altered chords, the piece was almost inhumanly performed by the singer/song-writer. With mind-boggling technqiue, creative harmonic development, and incredible rhythmic energy, Ken Medema never let up with displaying his remarkable musical gifts.

One great song after another and throughout each one Ken Medema dazzled the energized audience with his stunning prowess. An average but versatile singer, his voice is powerful but a little strident at times. But his music and his performance is not about a pretty voice, it instead is about the text, the creativity, the energy, and the rhythmic power of the entire experience. In the middle of the concert, Ken has audience members tell him a story and he then creates a song about the story. One story involved attending a baseball game when the fog moved in and the balls moved in and out of the fog. Following the game was a fireworks display through the fog. Ken's song creatively explored the relationship of baseballs and fireworks in the fog and how our lives sometimes seem to reside in the fog until the light shines forth. It was a gorgeous song and not easily forgotten.

He ended the concert with a new version of his I See America, a delicious treat of musical experimentation that enhanced the meaningful text. This marvelous song was followed by a fun African song called Ubuntu where we sang and danced. I was sorry the concert ended and could have started it again. He remains the king of improvisation and Christian concerts and I am blessed to have the opportunity to hear this amazingly gifted musician.