Solsonics and Broun Felinis Show Two Sides of Acid Jazz

The two, vastly different acid jazz bands appearing Sunday at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater--Los Angeles-based Solsonics and San Francisco’s Broun Felinis--served to illustrate the wide variety of music that falls into the catchall acid category. The former, despite the fact that it covered jazz tunes, is an R&B-inspired; funk ensemble, while the latter proved to be a true improvisational unit that often employed hip-hop touches.

The 10-member Solsonics, despite playing numbers by Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock and George Gershwin , proved itself to be a groove band, pure and simple. Even in such melody-strong numbers as “Summertime” and “Maiden Voyage,” the beat overshadowed lyricism, giving the familiar material an overriding rhythmic predictability.

The only thing acid about the group was the flashback nature of its sound, recalling the soul bands of the ‘70s with its complementary horn section, three-voice vocal section and wah-wah rhythm guitar backing. There have been a number of personnel changes in the band since the recording of its 1994 album “Jazz in the Present Tense,” and its sound has suffered as a result, notably in the vocal and rhythm sections.Currently, the Solsonics are a second-rate jazz band and only a fair funk band, one that needs more assertive spirit to succeed.

By contrast, the three-man Broun Felinis made a strong impression with their involved, though accessible rhythms, free-form improvisations and hipster recitation. The group’s sax-bass-drums sound recalls that of the piano-less electric bandsled by bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson. Though their play came without the polish one expects from mainstream jazz, it carried the same creative spirit and improvisational fire.