Andy Wheelock: Whee3trio: In The Wheelhouse

The first minute of an imminent immersion into the sound of In the Wheelhouse, by drummer Andy Wheelock and the Whee3trio, is "rhythm, rhythm, rhythm." The second impression is "Africa." This is not surprising given that Wheelock took a good deal of his inspiration for this effort via his study of the Ghanaian gyil, a type of xylophone. He speaks of "running my gyil through the POG2 pedal while writing the music for this album, of playing the instrument with live looping and guitar pedals."

The Whee3trio is percussionist Wheelock, pianist Walter Gorra and bassist Gonzalo Teppa. Special guest Gilad Hekselman joins them on guitar. The guitar is used here, to an extent, as an additional percussion instrument, much in the way that pianist Ahmad Jamal used the instrument in his early 1950s drummerless trio recordings.

The quartet creates a fine collective sound, reminiscent of Herbie Hancock's 1963 Blue Note Records outing, Inventions & Dimensions, having a similar timelessness versus modernity feeling. And, like much music out of Africa (or inspired by it, in this case), it bubbles with a vibrant, life-affirming, groove-centric electricity.

The influences of Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and West African sounds take Wheelock in a world jazz direction, to a crafting of new dimensions for his art. There may even be some pop tinges in the mix. The group interplay makes for a joyfully hypnotic listening experience. With a band that is this tight and cohesive, the breaking down of the parts is unnecessary. However, the occasional brief but inspired solos that rise above the rhythms from Hekselman and Gorra can easily draw one into that type of listening mode.

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