Dave Weckl Band :Perpetual Motion

DAVE WECKL BAND
PERPETUAL MOTION

Stretch Records

Albums by drummers are tricky things. Obviously, it is rare that the drum set can be the focus of the entire album, but then the question arises: what is different about a drummer-led group than any other group with a drummer? In addition, such albums can emphasize the rhythmic at the expense of harmonic and melodic interest, resulting in less than stellar results. Such is definitely NOT the case with the Dave Weckl Band's latest Stretch Records release, Perpetual Motion.

Weckl is, of course, the powerhouse drummer behind Chick Corea's "Elektric" and "Akoustic" bands, and he maintains the same power and tastefulness here. Weckl is always there, driving the band or soloist forward, but he leaves adequate space for the rest of the rhythm section (Tom Kennedy, bass and Steve Weingart, keyboards) to contribute as well. Right away on the opening track "Double Up" we get Weckl's powerful energy right up front, floating around the angular lines played by Weingart and saxophonist Brandon Fields, supplemented by a deft horn section. The result gives a big band feel to the proceedings, allowing Weckl to play powerfully without overpowering the band. At times he reverses the beat behind Weingart's electric piano solo, recalling some of Steve Gadd's best studio work. This sharp opening is followed by the intro to "Child's Play", featuring a children's chorus that includes Weckl's daughter, Claire. It sounds like the track will be some type of breezy Brazilian number, but once Weckl kicks in to the 6/8 beat accented with perpetual triplets, the listener is carried along once again on a river of energy. Fields contributes a really nice alto solo to this tune, and generally acquits himself very well throughout the album. As the only horn soloist, he manages to hold the interest of the listener.

Though Weckl avoids the trap of making his compositions exclusively about rhythm, offering nice settings for his soloists to settle into, the tunes on Perpetual Motion are a little weak melodically. There is an abundance of synthesizer work as well, at times recalling the romantic European fantasias of Weckl's former boss, Chick Corea. Usually Weingart is able to avoid clichéd sounds and keep the noodling to a minimum, but once in a while he crosses the line. His work on acoustic and electric piano are excellent, though, and easily make up for any excesses in his synth work.

"Oasis", composed by Weingart, is a standout track. Opening with a soprano sax riff that is dangerously close to smooth jazz territory, it settles into a gentle Asian-inspired groove, with Weingart providing a sound like some kind of marimba while offering chord voicings on electric piano that keep things harmonically interesting. Weckl punctuates with floor toms, giving a tropical, jungle feeling to things while going easy on the cymbals. This is the only number to feature Brandon Fields on soprano sax, and I must say that while he still plays well, I found his tone to be overly sweet. "7th Sense" is a nice workout that features the horn section again to nice effect. Overall it sounds like a Steely Dan track from an unfinished album (that's a compliment, by the way). "Overdrive", another Weingart composition, is reminiscent of some of Corea's fusion work again. The opening could be the classic Return to Forever, while the middle section featuring Weingart's electric piano solo sounds rather like the first RTF with Joe Henderson and Airto. Anyway, if '70s fusion sounds aren't your bag, you probably won't find Weingart's compositions all that charming, though there's still plenty here of interest, like Fields' well-turned tenor solo on "Slingshot", his alto turn on "Tiempo de Festival" and Weckl's work throughout. In general, if you enjoy a burning rhythm section working out on a variety of hot styles from the past 25 years or so and some fine solo work on top of it, you'll get a kick from Weckl's Perpetual Motion.