DAVE WECKL

Dave Weckl (born January 8, 1960) is a highly acclaimed Jazz fusion drummer. Weckl attended Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, MO and graduated in 1978. He majored in jazz studies at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. Starting out on the New York fusion scene in the early 1980s, Weckl soon found himself working with artists such as Paul Simon, Madonna, George Benson, Michel Camilo and Anthony Jackson. His most famous early work though, where his popularity blossomed, was with the Chick Corea Elektric Band from 1985 to 1991.

Weckl spent a total of seven years with Corea, during which he performed on numerous albums and also appeared with Corea's Akoustic Band, receiving considerable esteem for his work. He augmented his work with Corea by continuing his session work and appearing often with the GRP All-Star Big Band. In addition, he recorded four albums in 1988 and '89 with the Manhattan Jazz Quintet. Weckl has also released a series of instructional videotapes, and in 1990, he led his first solo date, Master Plan, for GRP. Heads Up followed in 1992, as well as Hard-Wired in 1994.

Upon leaving Corea, Weckl's primary focus was recording and touring with guitarist Mike Stern; he also continued his work as a sideman. In 1998, Weckl led the R&B-oriented date Rhythm of the Soul, a return to his other boyhood musical love, and the like-minded Synergy followed in 1999. The Dave Weckl Band had really gelled by the time of Transition's 2000 release, but Weckl didn't leave teaching behind either, and released another instructional recording, The Zone, in 2001. After working extensively with a quartet for the last few years, he debuted their efforts with 2002's improv-heavy Perpetual Motion.

He has been the leader of ten recordings since 1990, three under his own name and seven as the Dave Weckl Band. Dave is endorsed by Yamaha Drums, Sabian Cymbals and Vic Firth Drumsticks, all of whom he has assisted with the design of new products, such as Sabian's HHX Evolution and HHX Legacy cymbal lines.

Around 1996, his style and setup radically changed due in large part from his studies with the legendary Freddie Gruber.

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Biography of Dave Weckl

For more than 20 years, Dave Weckl has developed and maintained a reputation among fans, peers, and the international music community as one of the great living drummers. For this, he has received numerous accolades and honors; Modern Drummer inducted Dave into their Hall of Fame and named him "one of the 25 best drummers of all time."

But these honors, in addition to many more bestowed by the music community, are the product of Dave's undying commitment to making great compositions. Dave's incredibly dynamic and diverse drumming, which has inspired musicians worldwide, is built on a solid foundation of knowledge and respect for music.

Born in St. Louis Missouri, January 8th, 1960, to a mother who loved music and a father who played the piano as a hobby, Dave started playing drums around the age of 8. 

During his high school years, Dave received many awards from the NAJE (National Association of Jazz Educators) for outstanding performances in his high school's competition-winning jazz band. He was involved with numerous local groups from a very young age while studying with St. Louis-area teachers Bob Matheny and Joe Buerger. 

At age 16, Dave began to work professionally with local pop and jazz groups. In 1979, he moved to the East coast to study music at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. At just 19 years of age, Dave was getting recognized.

While playing the club scene in New York City with a band called Nite Sprite, Dave started to receive accolades from established studio musicians such as Steve Kahn, Michael Brecker, and especially drumming great Peter Erskine. It was Peter who recommended Dave for his first 'big gig' in town with a group called French Toast, forerunner to the Michel Camilo band, which has been recorded quite extensively over the years. 

From this group, legendary bassist Anthony Jackson recommended Dave for the prestigious Simon and Garfunkel reunion tour in 1983. After this tour, it was not long before Dave was regularly being called for radio and TV jingles, sound track sessions, and top recording dates with such artists as George Benson, Peabo Bryson, Diana Ross, and Robert Plant, to name a few.

In 1985, Michael Brecker suggested to Chick Corea that he look into Dave's services for his new Elektric Band. That was the beginning of a seven year relationship with both the Elektric and Akoustic Bands, where nine recordings and three videos were produced, including a Grammy for the first Akoustic Band release. 

The Elektric Band showcased Dave's cutting-edge drumming and innovative use of electronic and acoustic drums, bringing him world-wide recognition. Though the Elektric Band went on a 10-year hiatus in the early '90s, the band is once again touring from time to time. It also released a 17-part conceptual album entitled "To The Stars" in mid-2004. 

As a solo artist, Dave has recorded and produced nine recordings to date, including GRP/MCA solo releases Masterplan, Heads Up, and Hardwired. In 1998, Dave realized his long-time goal of forming a world-touring band. To date, the Dave Weckl Band has released five studio records, including: Rhythm Of The Soul, Synergy, Transition, Perpetual Motion, and Multiplicity. The band also released its hot live album, LIVE (and very plugged in) and a compilation of DWB and instructional videos entitled The Zone. 

The DWB keeps Dave very busy, but he still enjoys sideman work. Dave regularly joins guitarist Mike Stern, among others. When off the road, Dave keeps busy with session and production work at his home studio in Los Angeles. He also accepts a limited number of private students - and offers classes through the Virtual Drummer School. Additionally, Dave has many instructional video/DVDs and play-along packages on the market (see the "instructional" dropdown menu at the top of the page).

A constant student of the art of drumming and music, Dave gives back every chance he gets through clinics and classes all over the world. Of teaching, Dave says:

"It is my goal to inspire as many young (and not-so-young) people as possible to want to play music, whether it be on drums or another instrument. With all the negatives in the world today, I feel this is my way of contributing a positive action toward spiritual happiness, which music can be a big part of, if you let it. So parents, if your child has a talent for music, please allow them the opportunity to develop that talent!"

Of course, a guy this busy does need to get around town efficiently. A fan of automobiles, Dave stays on schedule by driving a 440 horsepower Lingenfelter Camaro (read about it here). With a 0-60 time of 4.2 seconds, you're not likely to see him out on the L.A. highways - but you're bound to hear him!

It's a drummer thing...

But beyond all the recording, producing, touring, teaching, working with companies he endorses to build better products, and tearing up the highway every now and then, Dave's passion is spending quality time with his daughter, Claire, Sophia (his Golden Retriever), and friends.

This is what all the hard work is for - the inspiration to keep doing it - and that perspective is probably Dave's biggest asset.

Source: http://www.daveweckl.com/bio.htm

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Dave Weckl 

For the last 20 years, Dave Weckl has maintained a reputation amongst his fans and peers as one of the very finest musicians on the contemporary music scene today.

Weckl was born in St. Louis, receiving his first drum set at age eight and developing his playing style by listening to drummers like Buddy Rich, as well as R&B grooves. After a couple of years in college, he became involved in the New York jazz scene, eventually joining a fusion group called Nitesprite, where he attracted the attention of Peter Erskine. It was Peter who recommended Dave for his first 'big gig' in town with a group called French Toast, forerunner to the Michel Camilo band, which has been recorded quite extensively over the years. 

In 1985 Michael Brecker suggested that Chick Corea check out Dave for his new Elektric Band, he was forming. That was the beginning of a 7 year relationship with both the Elektric and Akoustic Bands, where 9 recordings and 3 videos were produced, including a Grammy for the initial Akoustic Band release. The Elektric Band showcased Dave's spectacular drumming and innovative use of both electric and acoustic drums, bringing him world-wide recognition. 


The Elektric Band, after a 10 year hiatus, has recorded an new CD entitled To the Stars, and has toured off and on throughout 2005. As a solo artist, Dave has recorded and produced 10 of his own recordings to date, most recently Multiplicity, on Stretch/Concord Records.

Besides his busy playing career, Dave is also very involved with the teaching aspect, conducting many seminars, clinics and classes all over the world. He says "It is my goal to inspire as many young (and not so young) people as possible to want to play music, whether it be drums or another instrument. With all the negatives of the world today, I feel this is my way of contributing a positive action towards spiritual happiness, which music can be a big part of, if you let it."

Source: http://www.vicfirth.com/artists/weckl.html

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For Dave Weckl, music, like life, can express all the intensity and excitement of a roller coaster ride. Making is initial splash as a phenomenal first-call drummer in the early 1980s, with artists as diverse as Paul Simon and Michel Camilo, Weckl eventually joined Chick Corea's Elektric and Akoustic Bands. Over their seven-year lifespan, he often collaborated with the renowned keyboardist for some of the most daring improvisational music of the era (Weckl's innovations were a major part of the bands' sound, achieved through his contributions in both the technical and sonic realms). Refining the inspirational drumming of Steve Gadd to profound levels of intricacy, flow and finesse, Weckl was also perhaps the first drummer to focus on sound as much as style. Using his own custom built sound system, sometimes aided by electronics, he redefined the drummer's role in the improvisational unit as no one since.

Not content to simply play sideman, however, Weckl began his journey as a leader with a series of bold, sometimes controversial albums that drew on his work with Camilo and Corea. Infused with unique rhythmic stylization and melodic intensity, his albums were exacting musical statements in their own right. Whether you call it jazz, fusion, funk, or even electric improvisational island music, Weckl's music is breathtakingly alive, a vital sound realized and energized by some of the best musicians in the business.

Now, after such acclaimed albums as Perpetual Motion, Transition, Synergy, and Rhythm of the Soul, the Dave Weckl Band unveils the double CD, Live (And Very Plugged On). With long-time compatriots Steve Weingart on keys and bassist Tom Kennedy (who accompanied Weckl on guitarist Bill Connor's adventurous 1984 recording, Step It), the Dave Weckl Band, with new saxophonist, Gary Meek, lets listeners into their live arena, where improvisation is open ended and ideas are as explosive as plastique.

'For the kind of music we play,' says Weckl, 'which is jazz inspired in a sense of improv and spontaneity, capturing a live performance in front of an audience is the real deal. This particular recording was done over a six-night period, and although some nights will always be better than others, this band has a good night every night.'

Recorded at the Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood in December of 2002, Live (And Very Plugged In) features familiar Weckl fare, as well as a handful of surprise compositions. Fans will recognize songs like 'Braziluba,' 'Wake Up' and 'Just for the Record,' while Pee Wee Ellis' 'The Chicken' and Thelonious Monk's 'Rhythm-A-Ning' show what can happen when inspired musicians with scorching skills flame broil two standards of the funk and jazz repertoires. The quartet is joined on the closing 'Tiempo De Festival' by a horn section of Jerry Hey (trumpet), Gary Grant (trumpet), Bill Reichenbach (tbone) and former Weckl bandmate, Brandon Fields (tenor sax). The album is a festival, for sure, a contagious slice-of-life glimpse into one of the most exciting bands on the circuit.

Though Live (And Very Plugged In) surges with many ear-prickling, brain and booty-moving performances, Weckl claims no one song is the album's highlight. 'Since the objective was to really capture a whole night as we played it [split into two shows, thus 2 CDs],'he says, 'there aren't any real higher points than others for me. I just feel the whole documentation is special, because it is LIVE. The songs were chosen only because it is the shows we have been playing the entire year before the recording was made. The selections are from Transition, Perpetual Motion, and a couple of new, previously unrecorded songs as well, not to mention a bass-drum duet with Tom Kennedy, and an extended drum solo. I feel our music to begin with is very accessible to a broad audience as the compositions span a wide variety of styles, a little something for everyone.'

Live (And Very Plugged In) opens with the slap-in-the-face profundity of 'Wake Up,' then glides into the funk of 'Braziluba' and 'Mezmer-Eyes,' which hold a few kernels of Elektric Band style soloing. Steve Weingart's expansive 'Oasis' follows. A haunting ballad that finds Weckl ruminating on cymbals and brushes as the keyboardist paints a rich palette of sound, it's a calm moment among the album's many storms (tornadoes is more like it). The multi-textural 'Crossing Paths' leads to the sax and drum foray, 'Hesitation,' and companion funk-fusion piece, 'The Chicken,' which sizzles with some heated and mind-boggling Weingart-Weckl interplay and a rousing horn shout section. 

Slow burner 'Toby's Blues' gets Disc 2 off to a comfortable start, followed by the equally simmering swing of 'Just for the Record' (which recalls the creeping certainty of the race between the tortoise and the hare). Monk's 'Rhythm-A-Ning' is a standout track (for this listener), a high velocity, Kennedy-Weckl improv that is stunning for both its control and finesse, as well the requisite power required for such speedball maneuvers. Weckl's solo 'Cultural Concurrence' must be heard, not described. Suffice to say, it is a tour de force musical performance. 'Tiempo De Festival' closes the album on a joyous, nearly over-the-top note, with the musicians expounding a sense of revelry, purpose, and downright glee. Live (And Very Plugged In) is a complete live performance, both organic and electric.

Dave Weckl has enjoyed massive success as a drummer for hire, as well as the sense of satisfaction that comes from being a contributing member to an extremely popular jazz outfit. Regarding his early days on the New York session scene, Weckl is not sentimental. Like most forward thinking artists, the drummer-leader knows that nostalgia is a trap: 'I am very steady working now, but mostly as a leader of my own band, and as an educator with my instructional products. I do work occasionally as a sideman, but I don't have a lot of time for that these days, not that I don't like to do it, because I do! The biggest difference is that I am fairly at peace with who I am as a drummer now, although I am still always looking for the next level, trying to broaden my musical scope.'

Weckl has practically made a career out of finding, then surpassing the 'next level.' With Live (And Very Plugged In), Dave Weckl documents the ongoing evolution of his music while hinting at the levels to come. 'I am able to achieve a very comfortable, honest communication through my instrument with absolutely no inhibitions with this group of musicians and the music we play. I am able to write and present the music as I envision it, and I think that is the most gratifying thing for any leader.'

Source: http://www.ejn.it/mus/weckl.htm

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Stretch Records Discography:

Live and Very Plugged In, SCD-9042-2
Perpetual Motion, SCD-9040-2
The Zone, SCD-9037-2
Transition, SCD-9032-2
Synergy, SCD-9022-2
Rhythm of the Soul, SCD-9016-2