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Chad Wackerman & The LA All-Stars @ Ronnie Scott’s, 30 March 2026

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Over his 45-year career, Chad Wackerman has become the Mr Consistency of jazz/rock drums.

Since making his name in Frank Zappa’s 1980s bands, he has made valuable contributions to the music of Allan Holdsworth, Steve Vai, Andy Summers, Francis Dunnery and many more, showcasing a flowing, highly melodic, instantly recognisable approach to the kit. You might even call him the Elvin Jones of fusion.

But it was Wackerman’s original compositions – honed over six solo albums, the latest being Quube – which took the spotlight during this hugely enjoyable sold-out gig alongside a starry lineup of bassist Jimmy Haslip, keyboard player Steve Hunt and guitarist Alex Machacek.

And yes, this was all-original music with not a standard in sight, a pretty rare occurrence for Ronnie’s (Haslip and Hunt seemed to be reading charts). Not even Tribal Tech do that when they come to town.

Holdsworth fans will twig that three of these players are closely associated with the late master guitarist who also appeared on Wackerman’s superb 1991 debut album Forty Reasons.

Though Allan wasn’t mentioned by name, his influence towered over this music (Wackerman also contributed memorable compositions to a few Holdsworth solo albums).

‘The Fifth’ thrust us into the band’s soundworld, a subtle, elegiac half-time shuffle with dark, meaty, close-interval chords and vertical harmony. Wackerman’s feel is subtly different to those of past half-time masters Omar Hakim, Kirk Covington and Peter Erskine.

Haslip embarked on a telling mid-range solo while Machacek’s whammified chords and phrasing couldn’t help but bring Holdsworth to mind, though later in the evening he revealed more distinctive aspects.

‘Holiday Insane’ and ‘Electric City’ perfectly demonstrated Wackerman’s ‘conversational’ approach to groove playing, heavy on the ride cymbal and open hi-hats, the latter also featuring a classic Hunt Rhodes solo.

Haslip featured on the ethereal ‘Quiet Life’, his approach subtly different to fellow LA bass monster Jimmy Johnson’s from the recorded version.

Wackerman kicked off his NYC tribute ‘The City’ with a melodic solo, a mini composition in itself (Zappa’s influence?), while Hunt added vocoder to the mix and Machacek nodded to Wayne Shorter’s ‘Witch Hunt’ during his fine solo. ‘Tell Me’ stayed close to the recorded version, Machacek even dialling in a harmonizer during his solo.

Meanwhile ‘I Like Your Old Stuff’ – inspired by a fan’s post-concert comment – showed the heavier side of this quartet, a flowing, fast 4/4 which occasionally foregrounded a vicious bass/guitar riff. ‘All Sevens’ rounded things off with another superb Hunt feature and engaging group improvisation.

The affectionate reception given to this music seemed to thrill the ever-modest Wackerman. His brand of jazz/rock may be unfashionable – no political comment or social protest here – but he’s building a subtle and original body of work which benefits from close attention.

Francis Dunnery talks about his work with Chad here.

Steve Hunt/Tim Miller: Changes

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Arguably no guitarist has stepped into Allan Holdsworth’s shoes since the Yorkshireman’s sad death in 2017 – hardly surprising since he was one of the greatest, most original voices on the instrument.

But if anyone can get close to recapturing Holdsworth’s compositional magic, it’s keyboard player Steve Hunt who toured/recorded with the guitarist between 1988 and 1995 and wrote two bona fide Allan classics – ‘Dodgy Boat’ and ‘Joshua’.

Hunt’s new album Changes features guitarist Tim Miller and three key Holdsworth collaborators: drummers Chad Wackerman and Gary Husband, plus bassist Jimmy Johnson. It’s a feast of interesting chord voicings and strong melodic statements. It doesn’t hurt that Miller is clearly a devotee of Holdsworth, a fluid, elegant player with a similar tone and legato approach, but obviously way off the unpredictable, effervescent brilliance of Allan. No shame in that…

This is heavy, intricate, epic music, decidedly nearer the prog/rock end of fusion than the jazz. Opener ‘Falling’ is a superb composition with lots of Holdsworth chord voicings, interesting modulations and a memorable melody. ‘Sevens’ seems inspired by Allan’s ‘The Un Merry Go Round’, with another great melody and beguiling ‘add-9’ modal flavour, plus a classic Husband drum solo also echoing that Holdsworth piece.

The title track is a moving, melancholy solo Hunt piece performed on various synths, while ‘Inverted’ features some ingenious chord voicings and a superb Moog solo from the composer. ‘Emergence’ is catchy with a lovely crisscrossing feel alternating between 4/4 and 6/8 time, while the closing ‘Next’ may be the most Holdsworth-ish melody of the whole album (and foregrounding a strong Joe Zawinul flavour during the solo section).

There are a few minor gripes – Changes has a slightly ‘whooshy’/over-compressed quality, and the drummers occasionally sound similar, never a problem when they shared studios with Holdsworth during the late 1980s and 1990s. And Miller’s two compositions – ‘Aerial Route’ and ‘Chrysalis’ – are less essential, lacking Hunt’s melodic sense, though the former tune has a brilliant Johnson bass solo which explores every inch of the instrument.

But overall this is a really strong, cohesive, consistent album, and this writer’s favourite ‘fusion’ record since John McLaughlin’s Is That So? from 2019. It’s also essential listening for fans of Holdsworth, McLaughlin, Husband and Wackerman.