Charlie Hunter fuses with jazz partners

ST. PETERSBURG -- "Rhythm music" is the label Charlie Hunter gives to his appealing fusion of jazz, acid jazz, funk, blues, rock and occasional bits of world music. He's the chief source of that rhythmic magic, simultaneously playing bass and guitar parts on an eight-string hybrid instrument, becoming two-thirds of a rhythm section in the process.

His latest partner in time, on Friday night at the State Theater, was Johnny Vidacovich, the remarkable New Orleans drummer best known for his role in long-running Crescent City jazz band Astral Project. The exuberant Vidacovich, as usual, was a show all by himself.

The two, not surprisingly, collided famously, in front of an audience of about 400. Vidacovich's creative, highly interactive approach at times seemed to embody the entire history of jazz drumming. His playing made a perfect match with Hunter's bouncy melodies, sturdy bass grooves and reams of free-flying guitar lines, fattened up, as usual, with an effect that had his instrument sounding like a Leslie-amplified organ.

Josh Roseman, a superb journeyman trombonist associated with Groove Collective, the Roots, Dave Douglas and Steve Coleman, was the very welcome third wheel. He deftly navigated the rifflike melody lines. His earthy melody, harmony and solo work nicely complemented that of his band mates.

The trio mostly stuck to recent concert staples, touching briefly on music from last year's Songs From the Analog Playground.

Members of rambunctious jam band Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey joined the three for a Latin-tinged take on Nirvana's Come as You Are, a tune Hunter covered on his 1995 Bing, Bing, Bing! album.

The Jacob Fred group turned in a bracing maelstrom of free-form jazz, funk and psychedelia. made for a riveting journey.

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