House of Drumming.com

wayne and whomever he's playing with really push the listener in terms of what we'll accept for chord harmony and/or melody. It's very jagged and dissonant at times, but also completely improvisational against the quarter note. All the songs have heads that sound different to me, but I'd agree that the improv parts of the songs can sound similar. There's a lot of open string chord things going on with his playing. Those wide intervals and odd scales can sound weird, or even wrong.

I was always curious why he seemed to prefer Keith too. But perhaps it was that Zach was moving on to something else. But then again, Wayne seems to be a big fan of funk and the 16th note subdivision (from what I've read anyway). so it's not surprising that he prefers Keith's method of laying it down more. I don't get the impression Wayne is a big fan of 'fusion-drumming', whatever that is. The sound he hears is rooted in classic funk and Keith probably does a better job of exemplifying that aesthetic.

I just want another Boomish album.

deseipel wrote:wayne and whomever he's playing with really push the listener in terms of what we'll accept for chord harmony and/or melody.

He plays/writes very few melodies. His compositions may have a structured theme (or head), but once they're off and running and improvising, there is NO straying from the tonal center. Nothing new there. Indians have done it forever. Zappa used to love to solo over a pedal tone for a long time too. But Wayne's thing is cool with the way they've figured out signals to cue tempo shifts. I just wish they would start cueing chord or key changes.

+1 on the 'Long To Be Loose' recommendation and those particular tracks! I would also add the later '2 Drink Minimum' album recorded live at 55 Bar with Wayne, Lincoln Goines, and Zach for an example of what Wayne's thing sounded like back then.