Cyrus Chestnut at the Jazz Bakery

Cyrus Chestnut
Catalina’s Bar & Grill
www.catalinajazzclub.com
by Paula Edelstein

Dave Weckl Group At Catalina’s Performance Review by Paula Edelstein December 5-10, 2000 One of the things I love about Southern California is the musical landscape, so many great shows to see and hear and while “The Nutcracker” or “A Christmas Carol” seems a more natural holiday tradition, there are several really great bands performing this month around town and Dave Weckl’s Group was one of them. While Dave Weckl is still most renowned in the jazz realm for his seven years in the studio and on the road playing drums for Chick Corea’s famed Elektric and Akoustic Bands, his performance at Catalina’s Bar & Grill during his six night stand at the famed hot spot, quickly tipped the scales to Leader In His Own Light! Fresh on the heels of a new Stretch Records release, TRANSITION, Dave Weckl’s Group reflects a new direction that benefits tremendously from his long-standing relationship with Chick Corea. The drummer jammed with a new intensity, adding new percussive technique with the incorporation of bongos, wind chimes, a tombek and metal percussion in his drum set up. He cut loose on “Mild Hysteria,” which featured him in a fast double time pace while the rest of the band played in almost a half time. “Passion” was an emotional number and had a very noticeable impact on the audience. Several distinct moods created by the layers of music emanating from Weckl’s group were marked by the consistent playing of the group and it’s my bet that his unique and rhythmically eclectic jazz fusion served up by his successful touring band Brandon Fields, bassist Tom Kennedy and the newest member of the band, keyboardist Steve Weingart will surely delight fans of the jazz drummer whether in concert or in clubland. Great show!