Jazz-Fusion Lessons From Drummer Weckl

Contemporary jazz-fusion with a history? It seems a bit hard to imagine. But the music that unfolded through the Miles Davis electric groups, through Weather Report and Return to Forever has been with us now for nearly three decades.

Drummer Dave Weckl’s quintet, opening a six-night run at Catalina Bar & Grill on Tuesday, acknowledged that history, playing a set that cruised across many of the highlights in jazz sounds that dominated the ‘70s and ‘80s, from funk and jazz-rock to electronic sounds and groove-based rhythms.

Relying heavily on material from his new Concord album, “Rhythm of the Soul,” Weckl ran the proceedings from stage center, surrounded by an enormous battery of percussion, using his slam-bang technique as a powerful organizational force. Weckl has always been a strong, if sometimes a bit too busy, drummer. At 38, however, he now brings a more reasoned maturity to his playing. And in his dual roles of leadership and supportive backing, he displayed a collection of rhythms and timbres that balanced his familiar, bombastic effusiveness with quiet musical delicacy.

It helped that he was leading a first-rate collection of players. Longtime associate Jay Oliver, in particular, was a pivotal force, moving easily from funk-driven organ sounds to floating synthesizer timbres and impressive, bop-tinged mainstream lines. Underappreciated Brandon Fields swarmed across his tenor saxophone, pushing easily into its high harmonics, balancing its aggressiveness with several lovely, floating soprano saxophone solos. On bass, Tom Kennedy juxtaposed his rock-solid foundation lines with several busy-fingered displays of high-energy virtuosity.

The group’s final member, interestingly, was veteran rock guitarist Buzz Feiten. His heavy, sometimes murky soloing, simmering with smeared notes and fuzzy feedback, was the evening’s final connective fusion touch, effectively linking the jazz qualities of the music to its parallel association with rock.

* The Dave Weckl Band at Catalina Bar & Grill through Sunday. 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, (213) 466-2210. $14 cover tonight at 8:30 and 10, $16 cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 and 10 p.m., with two-drink minimum.