POP REVIEW : Planet Drum Stresses Ceremony

The eight-piece unit known as Planet Drum mixes percussionists from the African, Indian and Latin traditions. But Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart is the mastermind of the ensemble, so Deadheads outnumbered the ethnic music crowd and the men’s movement devotees at the group’s Wiltern Theatre on Sunday.

In a 2 1/2-hour performance focusing on the ceremonial nature of drumming more than its celebratory spirit, Planet Drum stressed ensemble playing over individual showcases (the most impressive of the latter was the remarkable tonal range T. H. Vinayakram displayed on the Indian clay pot instrument the ghatam ). One early highlight came when Zakir Hussain added tabla tones to an Afro-Cuban groove that ultimately metamorphosed into a piece anchored by Nigerian-born master drummer Babatunde Olatunji.

When the full ensemble was playing, it was often difficult to locate which percussionist was creating what--that sound like a bird flapping its wings was Brazilian Airto Moreira beating on his chest.

Surprisingly few pieces took advantage of the potential for a cross-cultural rhythm mixture. The irrepressible Hussain did the most in that vein by working tabla into Moreira’s berimbau feature, engaging in a vocal-instrumental duel with Vinayakram, and strapping on a big, Brazilian bass drum during the cowbell-drenched finale.