DeJohnette’s Band Follows a Solo Beat

Who gets to play most of the solos when the drummer is the leader of the band? Make a wild guess.

But when the drummer is as talented as Jack DeJohnette, it’s not necessarily a bad thing for drumming to be at the center. And, in the opening set of a five-night run at Catalina Bar & Grill on Wednesday night, DeJohnette used his position to trigger a set of performances that generated repeated cheers from the packed audience. At his best--as he frequently was--he is one of the most creatively fascinating drummers in jazz.

Despite DeJohnette’s powerful solo presence, however, plenty of improvisatory room was also allocated to his musical associates--saxophonist/bass clarinetist Benny Maupin, bassist Jerome Harris and pianist Michael Cain. Much of the program, in fact, was dominated by long soloing, only occasionally interspersed with ensemble passages.

On at least two major occasions, Maupin opened up his considerable arsenal of saxophone and bass clarinet special effects in roaring duets with DeJohnette reminiscent of the interaction between John Coltrane and Elvin Jones. There also were extended segments for Cain’s sometimes brittle-sounding, avant-gardish piano solos and Harris’ more meditative bass work.

It was not an easy set for the casual jazz fan to hear. Lacking any particular reference point (most of the thematic material was quickly dispensed with in favor of soloing), the soloing largely took place in improvisational limbo--in disconnected open musical space. Each of the players possessed sufficient creative skills to bring some intriguing perspectives to their work. But there also were long segments in which the musical focus blurred, and the soloing verged toward the self-indulgent.

The emphasis that was given to so much free, impromptu playing was a bit surprising. DeJohnette calls this group Oneness, and has frequently stressed his belief in a kind of musical collectivity that reflects the communal qualities of much world music. In past installments, when the group had percussionist Don Alias working in tandem with DeJohnette, there were some extraordinary moments of rhythmic interactivity--truly communal musical experiences. But the music of the current installment of Oneness too often had the feeling of individual views never quite coming together into a common creative perspective.

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* Jack DeJohnette and Oneness at Catalina Bar & Grill through Sunday. 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., (213) 466-2210. $17 cover tonight and Saturday, $15 cover Sunday, with two-drink minimum.