Banging the Drum for Persuasive Percussion

Is a change in jazz drumming on the horizon? Is the standard jazz drum kit beginning to lose its effectiveness? Does the basic combination of bass and snare drums, tom-toms and cymbals offer too few timbral possibilities for the expanding horizons of 21st century jazz? Or, perhaps most worrisome of all, does its combination of percussion devices tend to further a fairly specific style of music?

The answer to all of the above is “yes.”

Which shouldn’t be surprising. Over the course of the entire jazz century, rhythm-section combinations have never remained static. The tuba was replaced by the string bass; the banjo drifted to the fringe, supplanted by the guitar--first acoustically, then electrically; the piano eventually came to be described as the “acoustic” piano to distinguish it from the electric piano and electronic keyboards.

And change is continuing to take place.

When percussion specialists such as Airto Moreira began to show up in jazz rhythm sections, it become apparent that the standard drum kit needed some supplementation (a notion that had been floating around jazz, in one way or another, at least since the ‘40s). True, players such as Tony Williams and Elvin Jones labored, often with great success, to take the drummer’s role beyond a timekeeping function into the establishment of sumptuous counterpoints of rhythm and sound. But many succeeding players have taken the work of Williams and Jones as license to extract themselves from the ensemble and function as independent, high-voltage soloists. And, given the limited timbres in the standard drum kit, the result, too often, has tended to be a repetitious whirlwind of cymbal-driven decibels.

A few players have reacted by turning toward minimalism. The always pioneering Max Roach has performed with only a high-hat cymbal. Leon Parker has shown up for gigs with only a snare drum and a ride cymbal.

Add to the still-evolving picture the growing appeal of the rhythms of Brazil, Cuba and Africa. Given these colorful alternatives--unrestricted by the standard drum set-up--it’s no wonder these imports have made such significant penetration into the jazz world, and that so many listeners are turning to them.

A flock of new releases provides an intriguing overview of the gradually changing developments in jazz drumming. Some flow directly from the mainstream; others are only distantly related. But the linkages, both real and potential, are clear and compelling in every album.

Dave Weckl Band, “Transition” (** 1/2, Stretch/Concord Records). Working with a skilled ensemble--saxophonist Brandon Fields, keyboardist Steve Weingart and bassist Tom Kennedy--Weckl defines the drummer’s role in contemporary jazz with pop overtones. His crisply defined, funk-oriented rhythms and energetic drive represent a carefully crafted, articulate use of the traditional drum kit. Although congas are added here and there, Weckl’s music-- much of it written with band members--demands nothing more than familiar percussion sounds. It is an appealing, if not especially memorable, representation of the state of contemporary drumming.

Jim Black, “Alasnoaxis” (**, Winter & Winter). Black comes at the drum kit from an opposite perspective. His quartet is sharply reminiscent of some of the mid-level, jazz avant-garde efforts of the ‘60s. But what quickly becomes clear--through the edgy, often clattery sound of the music--is the limitations in his contributions. Constantly resorting to cymbal rolls and crashes, he seems to find little in his drum set-up to support the thick textures of his quartet of electric guitar, electric bass and woodwinds. Jones or Williams would have known what to do, but one suspects that Black might have been more effective with a wider array of percussion instruments.

Norman Hedman’s Tropique, “Taken by Surprise” (** 1/2, Palmetto Records). The rhythm section of Hedman’s ensemble is driven by his conga drums and the timbales and cymbal work of Willie Martinez. With a front line of vibes, saxophone and flute, the music is melodic and frothy, underscored by danceable Caribbean rhythms. In many respects, it is an extension of the pop-styled Latin jazz of Cal Tjader and Herbie Mann--early adventurers in the expansion of jazz percussion.

Sheila E. and the E-Train, “Writes of Passage” (***, Concord Vista). There are plenty of similarities between Sheila Escovedo’s E-Train and the Weckl Band. Both are pop-jazz-oriented ensembles, both perform radio-friendly material and both use a saxophonist-flutist (Eric Leeds in this case) to take the melodic lead. But the E-Train moves beyond Weckl’s traditional drum-kit funk rhythms via the addition of extra percussion. The music, as a result, is considerably more effective, largely because its rhythmic foundation possesses so much more variation in tone and texture. Pop-jazz it may be, with a Latin orientation and occasional vocals, but its success, within that framework, is undeniable, heightened by Sheila E.’s colorful percussion perspective.

Mega Drums, “Tierra Nova” (***, Intuition Records). Take some of the edgy qualities present in the Jim Black album, add touches of melodic lyricism and underscore it all with world-class percussion from the likes of Airto Moreira, Zakir Hussain and Glen Velez, and this is what you get--extraordinarily appealing sounds. The music flows in episodes interspersed with chanting, the low-frequency rumbling of the didgeridoo, Hussain’s driving tabla drums, and the jazz-based saxophone and flute of Wolfgang Puschnig. Fascinating as pure music, the album also serves as a textbook for the many ways in which the percussive potential of the jazz rhythm section can be expanded.

Deep Rumba (Rumba Profunda), “A Calm in the Fire of Dances” (Alto en la Fiebre de la Rumba) (***, Justin Time Records). The emphasis here is on Afro-Cuban connections. Tenor saxophonist Charles Neville adds strong jazz references. But drums, of every imaginable stripe are at the heart of the Kip Hanrahan production, which also showcases the vocals of Xiomara Lougart and Puntilla Orlando Rios, and the stirring conga work of Giovanni Hidalgo. Timbales player Amadito Valdez, from both the Buena Vista Social Club and the Afro-Cuban All Stars, is present. But, while the music is sometimes superficially reminiscent of both those groups, it has a far more visceral quality, largely due to the ferocity of the rhythms and the intensity of the call-and-response vocals. Sharing a common African heritage with jazz, it is music that illuminates important creative linkages.

Grupo Exploracion, “Drum Jam” (*** 1/2, Bembe Records). Pure percussion here, via a series of stunning examples of the marvelous rhythmic and tonal complexities in the rich, multilayered hand-drumming tradition that has moved from Africa to the Caribbean. The players include Cuba’s Miguel Bernal Nodal, Juan Garzon Brown and Puerto Rico’s Luis Daniel Cepeda, as well as a number of Latino percussionists based in Northern California. The rhythms embrace both contemporary and traditional forms including bomba, rumba, guaguanco, makuta and vodu, performed in loose, descarga settings as well as more structured renderings of son and such pre-son forms as the changui. And the extraordinary array of instruments--in addition to the congas, bongos and clave, there are the marimbula, the cajon, the guiro, maracas, agogo bells, bata, etc.--further underscores, in enormously entertaining fashion, the rich capacity for tonal, timbral and rhythmic coloration present in hand percussion. An album with eminently listenable qualities, and one that should be carefully examined by drummers willing to look beyond the parameters of the standard kit. *

*

Freelancer Don Heckman writes about jazz for The Times. He can be reached at djh@earthlink.net.