Erskine’s Art-Filled Lounge : In Solos or Together, Drummer’s Trio Executes High Level of Symbiotic Play

Don’t let the “lounge” in the name of drummer Peter Erskine’s Lounge Art Ensemble fool you. While the term has come to connote faux jazz or martini-driven bachelor-pad music, the operative word in this trio’s name is “art.”

Erskine is among the most versatile drummers of the last three decades. He came out of the bands of Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson in the ‘70s to work with seminal fusion band Weather Report, led by Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter.

The drummer has since recorded with a number of important musicians and released a handful of his own albums, notably a series of deep, introspective recordings beginning in 1992 for the German ECM label.

Erskine showed that introspective side, and others, Sunday at Steamers Cafe in Fullerton, performing--with saxophonist Bob Sheppard and bassist Dave Carpenter--a hip first set of veiled standards and originals that amazed in their serious intent and execution.

Sheppard, whose credits range from Steely Dan to Chick Corea’s current band, is an engaging soloist able to transport listeners with his concise story lines. Carpenter has absorbed the lessons of Jaco Pastorius (Erskine’s Weather Report colleague who died in 1987) and has developed a chordal approach to the six-string bass guitar. Here Carpenter created ringing, sweetly harmonic solos that were amazingly paced.

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The high level of play worked a symbiotic magic, powered by Erskine’s varied spells. A master of pulling color and shading from the standard jazz drummer’s kit, Erskine applied various rhythms and a host of resourceful embellishments during the course of each song. Erskine is a Max Roach-like, nearly melodic soloist whose improvisations were things of lyric cleverness.

On “You and the Night and the Music,” Erskine impressively echoed lines from Carpenter and Sheppard. His stirring brush work ignited “Amusing Paramours,” Bill Cunliffe’s twist on “My Funny Valentine.” Erskine’s shuffling march on his own “Cat + Kittens” was insistently driving and funky.

The only connotation of “lounge” applicable here was comfort. The three got cozy on Carpenter’s bouncy “Pennies From Heaven” rewrite called “Pesos” and created a gauzy fantasy, again with Erskine using brushes, on “My One and Only Love.” “But Not for Me” came with a confident swagger defiantly contrary to the standard’s lyric. The entire set was that rare combination of craft and feeling.

Erskine’s appearance marked the end of Steamers’ impressive lineup during last week’s International Assn. of Jazz Educators Conference in Anaheim. Besides Erskine’s group, pianist Alan Broadbent and saxophonist Gary Foster (who was in the audience Sunday), guitarist Russell Malone, Anthony Wilson’s exciting nonet and the internationally recognized Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra came across the bandstand. The club’s challenge is to aspire to this level of talent every week.