PATITUCCI HAS ALWAYS BEEN HIGH ON THE BASS

John Patitucci is one of those rare people who knew what he wanted to do before he was even a teen-ager--and then went out and did it.

“At 12, I decided I wanted to be the world’s greatest bass player,” he exuded in a conversation the other day, “and I started practicing like mad. I also knew that I didn’t want to play just rock ‘n’ roll, I wanted to play jazz as well. And that I wanted to be a good soloist, too.”

Well, the 26-year-old Patitucci may not be the greatest player alive, but he’s awfully good. Good enough to be a member of Chick Corea’s current Elektric band and to have played with the likes of Freddie Hubbard, the Crusaders, Hubert Laws and David Sanborn.

And in pursuing the goal he stated long ago, he’s developed into a well-rounded player, a musician who’s as comfortable in the studio on a symphonic part on acoustic bass as he is playing funky R&B; jazz on electric bass with saxophonist Brandon Fields.

“I love all kinds of music,” he explained. “I’ll play anything from Latin to rock to gospel to bebop. I guess I don’t want to limit myself.”

In person, though, the two-bassed Patitucci reveals more of a jazz emphasis. His major live gigs have been jazz, and the two bands he’s currently fronting--the John Patitucci-Mike Fahn quintet (with pianist Tad Weed, saxophonist Doug Webb and drummer Peter Donald) and the John Patitucci Electric Trio (with pianist Billy Childs and drummer Tom Brechtlein)--are jazz-oriented. Both bands play this Sunday, with the quintet working Wadsworth Theater, Brentwood, at 7 p.m. and the trio set for Le Cafe at 9:30 p.m.

The quintet was modeled after bands like Miles Davis’ early ‘60s group with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. “I wanted to have an acoustic band that plays with spirit and fire,” Patitucci said, “that really gives something when it plays, in terms of presentation and original material--as opposed to ‘Oh, this is just another jazz gig at one of the local clubs, let’s play standards.’ People make an effort to come out and see you and they deserve your best. And if the musicians don’t put out, the audience gets burned out and stops coming.

“I also wanted this band to be charged with emotion,” the Brooklyn-born-and-raised bassist continued. “One thing I’ve found from playing on a lot of gospel records is that there’s often an intensity and emotion that’s special. When you listen to great jazz musicians, like Freddie or Chick, they have that same kind of feeling. Even though they’re not singing, they’re singing with their horns. That’s what I want.”

Along these lines, co-leader Fahn is a particular favorite of the bassist. “I want people to hear Mike,” he noted. “He’s unbelievable. He can really play the valve trombone.”

The Electric Trio allows another outlet for Patitucci. “I have a lot of material that fits this format,” he said. “As has Billy (Childs). He really impresses me; in his writing you can hear the influences of Herbie and Chick, but also people like Aaron Copland and Igor Stravinsky. Plus I like to write R&B; and rock-influenced tunes that we can play.”

Still, the Electric Trio is a jazz-based band. “There’s always going to be a lot of blowing on the gigs,” Patitucci said.

Both ensembles will feature the leader in the solo spotlight, on both acoustic and electric, displaying his unusually agile technique and melodic imagination.

“I like to try and get the fluidity of the great tenor sax players, like John Coltrane and Joe Henderson, in my playing,” he said. “When I was a kid, the bass solos I heard on rock and R&B; records were terrible, and I vowed never to play that way. I said, ‘Man, I want to solo like a horn player. I want to be the guy who gets a real melodic thing together that keeps up the intensity.’ I knew it was just another way to heighten your expression.”

Just as he likes all kinds of music, Patitucci doesn’t favor the acoustic over the electric instrument, or vice versa. “I started electric bass at 12, then switched to acoustic at 15,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in playing both, so that’s what I’ve made a point of doing.”