Rock, Jazz Players Produce a Vital Sound

High-decibel electronics and rock-style intensity don’t usually sit well with mainstream jazz fans. Especially when the music is played by performers who have pop music identification.

But mainstream jazz fans will miss a stimulating experience this week if they pass up Vital Information, which opened a six-night run at Catalina Bar & Grill on Tuesday.

The band has been in existence with varying personnel since it was organized in 1983 by drummer Steve Smith, who was seeking musical stimulation beyond his gig with pop super-group Journey. Current members also include guitarist Frank Gambale (formerly of Chick Corea’s Elektric Band), keyboardist Tom Coster (of Santana) and bassist Jeff Andrews (of Steps Ahead).

Despite all this electric, pop and fusion experience, Vital Information’s Tuesday performance slipped easily into a series of driving, straight-ahead improvisations. No, it wasn’t framed in the perspective of postwar bop. More likely reference points were such funk and soul predecessors as the Meters, and Booker T. and the MG’s. The comparison was heightened because the group used similar instrumentation, with Coster adding the B3 organ’s seductive textures.

Much of the program traced to the group’s new album, “Where We Come From” (Intuition), a calculated decision by Smith to reach back to the gig playing of the ‘60s and ‘70s. The music ranges from soul and funk to occasional traces of bop, with a seasoning of zydeco (featuring Coster on accordion).

Smith’s drumming was solid and workmanlike--and more than that on some of the soloing. Coster’s organ playing sprinkled fluttery lines against bursts of fat-chorded accents. Working with Andrews, they laid down a groove that took one back to ‘60s roadhouse rhythms. And Gambale made the most of the support, spinning out lines whose musical fascination reached well beyond the relatively fundamental qualities of the setting.

It may not have been music to excite bebop wonks, but the responses from a young crowd made it clear that jazz needs the kind of horizon-expanding sounds from bands like Vital Information.

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* Vital Information at Catalina Bar & Grill through Sunday. 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., (213) 466-2210. $16, tonight and Saturday; $14, Sunday. With two-drink minimum. Shows at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.