It’s fitting that the final drummer/bandleader that came into town this past month would be Steve Gadd, as at 78, the elder statesman delivered a 90 minute set that set that showed that he is still the standard bearer of rhythm.
Gadd’s band of Travis Carlton/b, Michael Landau/g and Walt Fowler/tp-fh have worked together for number of years now, and that sense of cohesion was given an extra inspiration with the addition of Jeff Babko, who played not only keyboards but trombone to add an extra depth to the material.
The double brass front line was a formidable force of nature, swaying over Gadd’s rollicking back beat of the driving take of “Can’t Turn You Loose” with Gadd stomping out a chicken’d “Sign, Sealed, Delivered”. Babko and Fowler volleyed back and forth on “Way Back Home” as Gadd’s brushes deftly dug in with Carlton’s bass for a sleek rivulet.
Landau used a lonely and bluesy guitar line that sighed as it teamed with Babko’s tricky piano and Fowler’s muted horn during Gadd’s noir paint brushed “Hidden Drive”, with a similarly shadowy mood on “Aukland By Number” mixed misty strings and assuaged snares. Gadd had his cymbals dancing and his high hat humming under Fowler’s horn on “Timpanogos” and tom toms rumbling in the jungle around Babko’s keyboards on the chunky “Sly Boots”.
A closing drum solo spotlighted Gadd’s ability to cover the waterfront of styles, with a perfect mix of swing, funk, rock and progressive and each sounding like he invented it. Wait, didn’t he?
Upcoming shows at Catalina’s include Billy Childs 04/28-29, Tierney Sutton 05/05-06, Freda Payne 05/13 and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band 05/20