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Wally Schnalle and his quartet made its debut at the Douglas Beach House and once underway, everyone in the house knew that a hard hitting jazz-fusion band had arrived.

It was Sunday June 13, 2010 when drummer Schnalle presented his band: Jeff Massanari on electric guitar, Dann Zinn on his tenor sax and Jason Muscat on the electric bass. This appearance was a CD release concert for his newest album "Out of the Pan...," which Wally composed, arranged and produced.

The first number, "Side Step," was the warm-up for the band and it took a while for the four of them to hit the groove... but once they did, this band remained tight. 

By the second tune, "Out of the Pan," the band had jelled into a unit. From there, the power of Wally's jazz-fusion took the audience on a high powered, musical adventure interspersed with periods where the band eased off and gave each other (and the audience) a moment to breathe before soaring again.

This quartet's ability to come on hard with rockish elements and then suddenly caress the audience with unexpected delicacies kept everyone on the edge of their seat.

One of the more interesting areas of Schnalle's compositions is the variations between recorded pieces on the compact disc and what's played during a concert. As a striking example, in the live rendition of the tune "You Don't Even Know," sax-man Zinn opened the piece with an intricate solo followed by Massanari's guitar somewhat echoing the pattern of notes from Zinn's sax.

It wasn't until almost a third of the way through the piece that Jason on the electric bass and Wally on his drums eased in to join them. In contrast, everyone on the CD is there from the beginning. There were other places too, in other tunes where striking variations due to well developed improvisation enhanced the quality of the number.

Some of Schnalle's compositions are highly complex, especially when it comes to the intricacies of the sax, and Dann was eminently capable of handling these complexities. Wally danced hard on his jazz drums much of the time, but when he wasn't hitting hard his delicate use of his cymbals and rim-shots added volumes to his tunes. 

His controlled speed is rather refreshing, marking him as a well-seasoned drummer in contrast to those who slam at their drums trying to show off their speed. Massanari's electric guitar ripped and Muscat's electric bass hung in tight, backing the rest of the group.

As the final notes of the evening were played, the audience rose to their feet with an applaud that filled the boutique venue, the Douglas Beach House. Live, this is a high energy, fast paced jazz fusion unit. This is a seasoned band, one that you can come back to time and time again and always find something new in the music. 

Wally Schnalle and his quartet come highly recommended. Both the album "Out of the Pan..." and his recent live performance in Half Moon Bay is hereby given four stars.