Full Show Video: Reed Mathis & Friends Present Improv-Heavy Tribute To Paul Simon

On Thursday night bassist Reed Mathis assembled a number of his longtime collaborators to pay tribute to the music of Paul Simon at Doc’s Lab in San Francisco. Mathis and a core band of drummer Scott Rager (Tea Leaf Green), guitarist Clay Welch (Electric Beethoven) and keyboardist Todd Stoops (Electric Beethoven, RAQ) took a deep dive into Simon’s catalog as they picked songs that lent themselves to inspiring improvisation rather than hits.

Reed also shared the stage with guitarist Sean Leahy and drummer/percussionist Cochrane McMillan at various points of the evening. Mathis and his crew played two sets filled with Paul Simon songs and for the most part presented them in chronological order. The first set was loaded with tunes from Paul’s Simon & Garfunkel period such as “April Come She Will,” “America,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “Cecilia” and “Keep The Customer Satisfied.” Last night’s second set focused on Simon’s past five decades as a solo artist as the band used “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover,” “Obvious Child,” “Song About The Moon” and other compositions as launching points for adventurous jams.

Mathis streamed video of Thursday’s show on his Facebook page.

Set One

https://www.facebook.com/reed.mathis.5/videos/10155134058214717/

April Come She Will, Patterns, America, Mrs. Robinson, Cecilia, Keep The Customer Satisfied, Only Living Boy In New York

Set Two

https://www.facebook.com/reed.mathis.5/videos/10155134212384717/

50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, Loves Me Like A Rock, Hearts & Bones, American Tune > Obvious Child > So Long Frank Lloyd Wright, Why Don’t You Write Me, Song About The Moon, Senorita With A Necklace of Tears, Everything About It Is A Love Song