Jazz and Pop : Sharrock Passionately Melds Styles

Sonny Sharrock’s playing has often seemed determined to break through the boundaries of contemporary guitar.

But the iconoclastic experimenter’s show at the Palomino on Saturday suggested that the thrashing strums and violent noise elements of his mid-’80s work have been modulated by the addition of a strikingly lyrical perspective.

Far from the old hard-to-listen-to sounds, Sharrock’s soloing contrasted crisply plucked, soaring melodies against his more familiar attempts to squeeze the last vestige of clamor from his instrument.

Backed by keyboards, bass and a two-man drumming team, Sharrock played a colorful range of material that touched everything from Pharoah Sanders to modified blues, highlife, Indian music, funk and pop/rock. And he discovered connecting points with, as well as between, each of the styles.

The resulting image was that of an musician who has finally found his groove. In his best moments, Sharrock, like Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane before him, has managed the difficult task of combining cutting-edge exploration with a passionately interactive emotional relationship with his music.