POP MUSIC REVIEW : Junior Wells Was Fun, if You Stuck Around

Junior Wells playing the Coach House Wednesday night was play in its most fundamental sense.

After more than 35 years as one of the leading masters of the Chicago blues, Wells wasn’t bound by such considerations as image or observing the proprieties of tradition. The only thing that seemed to matter in his 1 1/2 hours on stage was having a relaxed, spontaneous good time.

Wells, 54, reveled in the fun of experimentation. He contorted his voice or blew unexpected phrases on his harmonica as the whim struck him from moment to moment. With a flick of his right hand, he summoned up solos and rhythmic shifts from his sidemen as if he were old King Cole calling for his pipe and his bowl and his fiddlers three. After all these years as a top-of-the-line bluesman, it came as no surprise that Wells’ whims tended to work as well as if they were considered steps in some master plan.

It is a good thing that Wells is capable of keeping up his enthusiasm while playing a show just for the fun of it. He was the final act on a harmonica-driven blues triple bill that ultimately took 5 hours to complete. By the time Wells came on, after an overly long, 25-minute warm-up set by his six-man band, less than half the original crowd was left. And by the time he finished, he and his band were playing mainly for their own pleasure because only 25 or so enthusiastic die-hards were left in the club.

When he sang, Wells’ sense of play led him to interject a wide range of cries, moans, trills, percussive tongue pops and James Brown-style soul shouts into most songs. Far from gimmickry, these devices added a wider range of colors to a sturdy and pliant voice that also was quite capable of delivering straightforward blues.

Wells covered the straight blues with songs like “Hoodoo Man,” which moved through dynamic shifts that took it from quiet mystery at the start to ebullience by the end. He made the James Brown connection explicit late in the show by singing “I Feel Good (I Got You),” and ended with Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say,” as if to drive home the value of the blues-soul merger.

As a harmonica player, Wells was an engaging tease. Instead of blowing liberal, extended solos, he would serve up an idea, trail off, let one of his sidemen take the lead, and then come back with another idea, this time with different tones and phrases. For Wells, playing the harmonica was like a conversation that follows no script. When an idea came, he spoke his piece. And he often delighted in improvising ways to twine his harmonica’s voice with solo parts by his two saxophone players, or with the spiky, fast-flurrying tones of lead guitarist Steve Ditzell.

Charlie Musselwhite, another veteran Chicago blues harmonica player, preceded Wells with a 90-minute set that was skillful and prolific, yet far less engaging. Musselwhite’s harmonica glided with seamless ease from low notes to high-pitched wails. But because his playing was so fluid, it soon took on a sameness that Wells averted with his conversational choppiness. Add to that the fact that Musselwhite’s singing and most of his material were unremarkable, and it made for long stretches of music that were pleasant but not memorable.

There were high points, though. A good, grinding blues provided some punch early in the show, and the last half-hour gained momentum, concluding with the moaning, graceful slow song, “Christo Redemptor.” Musselwhite’s forceful backing trio probably could have followed him into more adventurous territory had he chosen to take the lead by emphasizing more interactive playing.

The Mighty Flyers, local roots-and-blues veterans, emphasized showmanship in their 55-minute opening set. Showpieces included Rod Piazza roaming through the audience while blowing breathy harmonica blasts, a lengthy solo piano boogie, and a sharp, varied drum-and-bass solo segment. But these bits all went on too long and eventually wore out their welcome. A better balance between the solo set pieces and ensemble playing would have helped.

The Mighty Flyers are at the Sunset Pub, 16655 Pacific Coast Highway, Sunset Beach, through Saturday. Show time tonight: 9:30 p.m. Admission: $3. Information: (213) 592-1926.