Pucho and Company Keep Funk-Latin Machine Rolling

Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers may appear to be yet another entry in the parade of Latin jazz ensembles rolling down the pike lately. But there are some distinct differences.

Pucho, for one thing, is a nickname used by percussionist-leader Henry Brown--Harlem-born and -bred and not a Latino. And the Latin Soul Brothers, far from being a new arrival, have been around in one manifestation or another since the late ‘50s. Pucho’s capacity to discover talented young players was so good, in fact, that Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria frequently raided his bands to lure away such nascent stars as Chick Corea.

Performing at the Jazz Bakery on Wednesday night, the eight-piece ensemble revealed some of the key attractions of Pucho’s view of Latin jazz. “Three things are important to our music,” he noted in an introduction to one piece, “jazz, funk and Latin.” And he was as good as his word.

In his rendering of Miles Davis’ “Milestones,” for example, the rhythm kept shifting between mambo/salsa, bebop and Afro-Cuban; Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” and Juan Tizol’s “Caravan” surfaced above a tempest of Latin percussion; and Charlie Parker’s “Au Privave” was delivered as straight-ahead bebop improvisation featuring the crisp alto saxophone work of Ed Pazant.

Pucho was situated front and center for the action, his timbales accents, his occasional nods and gestures, and above all his magisterial presence serving as the focal point for music that combined some first-rate jazz soloing with persistently danceable rhythms. And the moderate-sized crowd responded with energetic, seat-dancing movement and enthusiastic applause.

Over the years, Pucho’s capacity to mix musical adventurousness with sheer entertainment has attracted some critical barbs. But it was hard to argue with the sheer skill of his players--Pazant, guitarist Marvin Horne, pianist John Spruill, bassist Tehrin Cole and percussionists Santos Rivera, Tyrone Govin and Ernie Colon--or the upbeat qualities of the music.

The only real problem with the evening, in fact, was the out-of-balance audio, which painfully overemphasized the bass, and the unfortunate acoustic reality that four percussionists is about 3 1/2 more than the Bakery’s barn-like dimensions can properly handle.

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* Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers at the Jazz Bakery through Sunday. 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. (310) 271-9039. $20 admission tonight, Saturday and Sunday at 8 and 9:30 p.m.