JAZZ REVIEW : Mellow Eclecticism From Guitarist Hiram Bullock

Hiram Bullock was feeling mellow. He made that clear from the start of his opening set Thursday night at Santa Monica’s At My Place.

A veteran of the David Sanborn and Gil Evans orchestras, as well as the David Letterman show house band, the guitarist moved easily across most of the current musical categories--from funk and rock to jazz and soul. The result was eclecticism of the first order, some of it tongue in cheek, some of it deadly serious, and virtually all of it mellow.

Among the humorous highlights were Bullock’s laid-back vocalizing on “A Little Bit” and “Groovy, Groovy” (with a rhythmic drive that was true to its name), and bassist Steve Logan’s raucous romp through “Funky Chicken.” But a ballad, “Angelina,” was less appealing; its smooth-limned melodic line didn’t seem to fit into Bullock’s still modest interpretive vocal range.

He was much better when he got down to some serious guitar playing on the final few numbers--notably an unidentified fusion piece and two extended improvisations on “Dear Prudence” and “Ode to Billie Joe.” Bullock’s tendency to play to the crowd did not obscure his energetic technique, colorful melodies and rich assortment of passing harmonies.

Keyboardist Scott Brown and drummer Steve Wolf spent most of their time supporting the musical interactivity between Bullock and Logan. But given some open space toward the close of the set, they responded like world-class sprinters at the crack of the starter’s gun.

Brown’s solo was a virtual nonstop, right-hand tour de force, snapping out his lines at a breathtakingly rapid pace. Wolf, who had appeared somewhat chaotic earlier in the evening, brought everything together with a collection of percussive sounds--both live and sampled--fascinating enough to offset the curse of the set-ending drum solo.

“Mellow” is what Bullock started with, and “mellow” is what seasoned most of his performance. But “mellow” wouldn’t have worked without the high-voltage intensity that is an intrinsic part of all his music.