JAZZ REVIEW : Mullins Masterful at Bon Appetit

Rob Mullins is not yet a household name, but the evidence provided during his weekly session at the Bon Appetit left no doubt that the 31-year-old keyboard artist is headed for status as an international celebrity.

Well versed though he is in synthesizer technology (he often plays electric keyboards at this Westwood club), Mullins on Sunday confined himself to acoustic piano. The confinement, far from pinning him down, offered a chance to display his mastery of the jazz tradition in a setting that gave him unlimited freedom.

With Brian Bromberg, a phenomenally fleet young bassist, and Joel Taylor on drums, Mullins paid his blues dues with a so-soaked treatment of “Georgia on My Mind,” complete with funky chording and an occasional foray inside the piano for some evocative string-plucking.

Two tunes from his forthcoming album, “Breakthrough” and the title number “Jazz Jazz,” attested to Mullins’ successful experimentation as a composer. A blues, “Five-Four-Three-Two-One,” found all three men digging deep into the heart of the matter, with Bromberg at his damn-the-torpedoes best.

Usually heard here every Sunday, Mullins will leave soon for an encore tour of Japan, returning to the weekly Bon Appetit gig June 25.