JAZZ REVIEW : Corea’s Akoustic Band Electrifies Coach House

Chick Corea’s two bands, Akoustic and his Elektric, have more in common than their quirky name spellings. The fact that bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl anchor both groups explains a lot about why the two bands, despite widely disparate material, seem to sound so much alike.

Though the keyboardist’s acoustic trio stuck mainly to standards during its Monday appearance at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, it charged the familiar tunes with the kind of urgency and rhythmic aggressiveness that has marked Corea’s electric work since the days of Return to Forever. There were no mellow ballads or considered, introspective treatments of the kind fellow-keyboardist Keith Jarrett and his Standards Trio give to the chestnuts. Instead, Corea’s outfit charged straight in, running roughshod over themes and generally stirring up trouble at every turn.

The tunes--”On Green Dolphin Street,” “How Deep Is the Ocean?,” “Sophisticated Lady”--began with Corea’s unaccompanied introduction, an exercise in dynamics and embellishments with the pianist, putting his signature on the familiar melodies. He tinkered with “ ‘Round Midnight,” teasing and goosing Monk’s lines before breaking into a stride rhythm. His solo during “With a Song in My Heart” was agitated and full of dissonant twists.

Patitucci proved a witty compliment to Corea’s explorations, pushing the keyboardist from beneath with rhythmic echoes and a nimble, light-on-his-feet walk. The bassist mined the melodies for his solos, stating his case in crisp, well-pitched tones from the upper register, adding searing runs that seemed to climb right off the neck of his instrument. Though Weckl’s muscular approach seems more appropriate for the Elektric Band, the drummer provided the same kind of insistent drive that Tony Williams brought to Miles Davis’ last acoustic bands. His solos were powerful, intricate statments that never ignored their rhythmic underpinnings.

The Chick Corea Akoustic Band also appears Thursday at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena. Information: (800) 266-2378.