This week, our video spotlight shines on drummer Dave Weckl, the St. Charles native who's made a name for himself in the jazz world over the past 20+ years both as a solo artist and bandleader and as a standout sideman to Chick Corea, Mike Stern, and others.
Weckl will be back home in St. Louis this coming Monday, October 13 to present a drum clinic sponsored by Fred Pierce Studio Drum Shop at the Airport Hilton. He's had a busy summer - playing dates with his new acoustic band (including fellow St. Louis native Tom Kennedy on bass); releasing a new album with keyboardist Jay Oliver (yet another St. Louis guy); and even putting out his own branded line of visual artwork. With all that, plus his visit here this week, it seems like an opportune time to look in on him.
Up top, you can see a “live in the studio" performance featuring Weckl, Jay Oliver and the rest of the band who helped them cut this version of Stevie Wonder's “Higher Ground" for their new album Convergence, which was released back in June.
After the jump, you can see a brief preview video promoting the drummer's new acoustic band, which, in addition to Weckl and Tom Kennedy, also features saxophonist Gary Meek and pianist Makoto Ozone. The footage was recorded in January of this year at the Catalina Jazz Club.
Below that, there's an interview Weckl this year did for a Dutch video series called DrummersTalk 2014, followed by a couple of clips of Weckl solos - one from the 2012 Montreal Drumfest, and another in-studio effort done specifically that same year for Vic Firth (maker of drum sticks and accessories, and one of several companies with which Weckl has endorsement deals).
We wrap up with one more interview, recorded last year for the drum magazine The Black Page, and one more solo, from an appearance by Weckl a few years back at a drum festival in Australia.
