Hard-Wired

Before forming the Dave Weckl Band in 1997, Dave released three records on the GRP label. These records are still available from many Internet retailers, and feature many great jazz artists.

"Hard-Wired" was the last of the GRP-era recordings.

Released in 1994, Jay Oliver (keyboards) and Dave had a lot of fun making this record. Still at a place where they were writing with no consideration to for a band, there were no boundaries.

As with all of Dave's recordings, there is a diverse array of material and styles on this record. One of Dave's favorite bass players, Anthony Jackson, plays on most of this CD, with James Genus and John Patitucci also making appearances. And...check out the final track on the record - Jay Oliver's soulful tune, "Tribute."

Heads Up

"Heads-Up" was the 1992 follow up recording to "Master Plan. A lot had changed for Dave, as he had recently moved to California.

This record was the first recording completed in his home studio. Like all the GRP-era recordings, "Heads Up" was a "project record," with no band concept in mind. Jay Oliver and Dave used the computer quite a bit for composition and production, and most of the bass on this record was programmed.

However, Jimmy Earl made an appearance on a few tunes, as well as Gary Novak (the drummer!) also playing bass on a tune Dave co-wrote with him!

Master Plan

Dave's debut album for GRP Records made a big impact and is a classic among drummers and jazz fans worldwide.

Produced in 1990, Jay Oliver and Dave took their original ideas from the instructional package, "Contemporary Drummer + One," where they used the computer to compose (with Performer). With Jay's exceptional programming skills, they had a "band in a box" pretty easily.

Dave added his parts to the sequences, then overdubbed other guests for most of the songs. And those guests were substantial, including: Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Anthony Jackson, Steve Gadd (performing a duet with Dave on a Chick song), Tom Kennedy, pianist Ray Kennedy, and guitarist Peter Mayer.

They did it all in Jay's basement (except for the title track with Gadd), on a TAC Scorpion board using LOTS of compression!