Les Claypool performs with Bastard Jazz at JaM Cellars Ballroom in Napa on Dec. 30, 2022.

NAPA — Singer-songwriter, bassist, producer and Bay Area native Les Claypool and his quartet Bastard Jazz prepared to ring in the New Year Friday night with the first of two shows at JaM Cellars Ballroom.

On break from Primus and his other projects like the Claypool Lennon Delirium, the self-proclaimed “King of Weird,” well-known for his genre-busting bass performances, broke out his Bastard Jazz for the occasion. The quartet jammed through a massive two-hour improvisational set in true jazz fusion style.

Throughout the performance, Claypool and the group touched on many other genres like psychedelic rock, funk, blues, R&B and thrash metal. The band leader helmed the bass while frequent collaborators, Skerik (Eric Walton) and Mike Dillon—members of Claypool’s Fancy Band and the Flying Frog Brigade—manned the saxophone and vibraphone, respectively. Vinnie Colaiuta, a prolific studio session drummer who’s toured with greats like Joni Mitchell, Sting and Frank Zappa, rounded out the quartet.

Kicking off the set, the quartet came on with an improvisational cacophony then rolled into a funk riff with Les Claypool setting up a steady rhythm with the slap bass, Colaiuta’s tight in-the-pocket drumming, Skerik punching in percussive sax hits and Dillon taking the lead on the vibraphone. A massive 40-minute jam followed, with each musician getting an opportunity to take center stage.

Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz performs at JaM Cellars Ballroom in Napa on Dec. 30, 2022.

Claypool used many of the techniques that have led to him being considered one of the greatest bassists of all time, including tapping, picking, whammy bar bends, slapping and using effects like synth pedals, reverb and the wah-wah tonality—all in his rapid-fire execution, unusual chord combinations and at times playing his bass like a percussion instrument.

Skerik’s sax was amplified with a synthesizer. He and Claypool played tones that defied the instruments they played. They sounded like keyboards and guitar—among other sounds.

Dillon occasionally switched from the colorfully melodic vibraphone to cowbell and other percussion. Along the way, he provided a terrific complement to Colaiuta’s masterful drumming.

Each player stood on his own, taking turns in leading the peaks and valleys of the improvisational musical tapestry. One example of this is when Skerik came in with a sax solo while Claypool held a steady rhythm; then the beat switched up with Claypool playing a new pattern, rolling the groove from a deep funk into an almost metal cadence, before finally pushing it further into psychedelic rock.

Les Claypool’s Bastard Jazz performs at JaM Cellars Ballroom in Napa on Dec. 30, 2022.

The groove ebbed and flowed. Psychedelic rock transitioned into a mellow groove and then the pace picked back up again. Claypool’s effects transformed the groove, making his bass sound like a spooky synth, using the whammy bar and his finger fret techniques to create spacey, far-out tones, and pitching the bass higher.

Claypool was dressed nondescriptly in a black cabbie hat, long-sleeved black shirt and gray vest with jeans, while the rest of the crew wore black tees and jeans. Skerik added a colorful black and red pharaoh hat to his ensemble. The band continued on to two other continuous jams in a similar fashion, with high energy and intense chemistry.

Claypool addressed the crowd at each break, introducing the band members on the first break and checking in with folks about holiday celebrations on the second.

The show continued with drumming and bass in the pocket in a jazzy R&B groove that flowed into blues, funk and back to rock in a spirited fashion.  The crowd, which looked to be fans of many of Claypool’s various projects, showed appreciation with cheers, dancing and nodding their heads.

Follow Mel Bowman at Twitter.com/melmichel and Instagram.com/coco_michel_coco. Follow photographer Nathan McKinley at Instagram.com/memories.by.mckinley.