For Versatile Sheila E., It’s a Family Affair

Sheila E. may be best known in the pop world for her association with Prince in the early ‘80s and her own crossover pop solo efforts of the past decade and a half. But, as Sheila Escovedo, the eldest offspring of Latin percussionist Pete Escovedo and his wife, Juanita, and a superb drummer in her own right, she is at her musical finest when she is roving freely through the rhythms of funk, jazz, rhythm & blues and salsa.

On Saturday night at La Ve Lee in Studio City, she was also a consummate leader. Seated behind a drum set on the stage, which had been atmospherically set up with candles, plants and a television set (“to create a homey atmosphere,” said singer Lynn Mabry), Escovedo led her five-piece E Train ensemble through a collection of material ranging from Stevie Wonder (“Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”) and Sly and the Family Stone (“Thank You [Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin]”) to the Crusaders (“Street Life”) and Brenda Russell (“Walkin’ in New York”).

Choosing to sing only a few back-up harmonies, she placed Mabry’s dark-timbred voice and arching blues phrases into the spotlight. It was a good choice, given Mabry’s easy craftsmanship and fluently communicative style.

Other players stepped into the spotlight from time to time, but the engine that drove the proceedings was the potent combination of Escovedo and bassist Marc Van Waginengen. In her only extended drum solo, Escovedo demonstrated an ear for texture and sound, perfectly balancing her irrepressible inner rhythmic surge. She is, by almost any definition, one of the most versatile and imaginative drummers in the current music scene.

Typically, the evening wound up with a family jam session, as brother Peter Michael Escovedo and paterfamilias Pete Escovedo came on stage for a climactic closing number. As so often happens when this amazingly simpatico group gets together, the friendly musical competitiveness produced some impressive rhythmic results.

Further enhancing the familial connectiveness, Sheila Escovedo called her sister Gina on stage to dance a few samba steps, while mother Juanita, seated nearby, supported the rhythm with a shaker and shouts of enthusiastic encouragement.

The message by the end of the set was perfectly clear: When you see the name Escovedo listed anywhere for a club booking, there’s a good chance that you’ll get more Escovedos than you expect. And you will, without a doubt, be treated to an entertaining evening of high musical excitement.