JAZZ REVIEW : Four Who Wing It Reach Impressive Heights : Guitarists Carl Verheyen and Mike Miller, bassist Luther Hughes and drummer John Ferraro team up for delightful evening at El Matador.

Sometimes when four musicians get together on a bandstand without rehearsal and just call tunes on the spot, they’re asking for trouble. Often the players don’t know the same songs or their approaches don’t jell, and disarray takes over.

Then there are those instances when, for no specific reason, it all seems to work. The players are empathetic, they listen to each other and the situation comes alive.

The latter, thankfully, was the case Thursday at El Matador, when guitarists Carl Verheyen and Mike Miller, who had never performed together, teamed up with bassist Luther Hughes and drummer John Ferraro for an evening of “What Shall We Play Next?”

Interestingly, the guitarists have remarkably contrasting styles that fit together attractively. Verheyen--whose debut solo album, “No Borders,” features drummer Ferraro--played a 1961 turquoise and white Fender Stratocaster exclusively, and emitted a wiry, biting sound from his instrument.

Verheyen’s an extroverted player who moved around while he worked and who had no shortage of ideas at his fingertips. His lines dashed, they whooshed by, they were short and stopped on a dime, they crackled. Rhythmically, his ideas almost always fell right on the money.

Miller, who also worked out on a ’61 Strat, though his instrument was beige and white and was custom-modified by Joe Tyler, also had a distinctive tone. Miller, whose debut album, “The Outside Band,” will be released soon, coaxed a honey-colored, singing sound from his instrument that seemed to float off the bandstand and permeate the club.

In contrast to Verheyen, Miller was a less rambunctious improviser. As he played, he stood slightly hunched over, his eyes closed, as if deep in thought. His ideas came out pensively as well: One would be issued, often followed by a pause, then another statement, then another space, and so on. On other occasions, he offered streams of notes.

The opening set began with “Crosscut Saw,” a blues number made popular by Albert King, and concluded with Wes Montgomery’s “Road Song.” In between, the small but enthusiastic crowd was treated to versions of Charlie Parker’s “Au Privave,” Miles Davis’ “Solar” and Luis Bonfa’s “The Gentle Rain.” The choices made for a well-balanced presentation.

On the medium-tempo “Crosscut,” Verheyen sang the melody in a pale tenor--Miller offered juicy accompanying chords--and then soloed. His gritty sound and his propensity for picking the ripe melodic notes resulted in a most musical improvisation. He varied between long, held notes that shimmered and brief up-and-down-the-instrument gallops, revealing influences of John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix. He could be funky, too, snapping his notes into place in exactly the right spots.

Miller’s improvisation was distinguished by a sound that rang sweetly in the ear the way a swallow of pure, mountain stream water tastes in the mouth. He played bluesy licks, complicated ideas that whizzed this way and that, and ascending-scale ideas that brought to mind an image of Fred Astaire skipping up a staircase backward. He liked to use one key note as a central point and jump back and forth between it and other higher notes.

“Solar” was typical of the other numbers, as Verheyen offered the melody, while Miller added select chords that filled out the group’s sound. Both players worked solidly in this medium-up straight-ahead format, Verheyen again choosing very mellifluous statements that had a rhythmic heartiness, while Miller was more fond of long lines that curved and flowed.

Hughes and Ferraro were a dynamic backup pair, listening to their partners and delivering lines and accents that fleshed out the music.

The quartet returns to El Matador on Wednesday, replacing the big band of drummer Chuck Flores, who has canceled because of illness.

Guitarists Carl Verheyen and Mike Miller will be joined by bassist Luther Hughes and drummer John Ferraro at 8:30 and 10:15 p.m. Wednesday at El Matador, 16903 Algonquin St., Huntington Beach. Admission: free. Information: (714) 846-5337.