Guitarists’ Differences Form a Sound Foundation : Jazz: Larry Koonse and Dave Murdy bring musicality, mutual respect and dissimilar playing styles to Huntington Beach tonight.

Ever see “Piano Players Rarely Play Together?” A wonderful documentary shown now and again on public television, it features three generations of New Orleans pianists: Tuts Washington, Henry (Professor Longhair) Byrd and Allen Toussaint.

Piano players don’t often play together because when they do, they tend to bump into each other musically, like dancers stepping on each other’s toes. Guitar players don’t often play together, either: Like pianos, their instruments can produce more than one note at a time, increasing the likelihood that two or more players will produce train wrecks of clamor rather than euphony.

“The initial inclination of most guitarists is to fill up the space, and that’s a difficult situation sometimes,” says guitarist Larry Koonse. “You just have to have the right guys. It’s a matter of chemistry.”

Koonse, 31, said he has that chemistry with guitarist Dave Murdy, 30. They’ve worked together on numerous occasions, including a series of engagements at Le Meridien Hotel in Newport Beach, since both were students at USC 10 years ago. They’ll get together again tonight at El Matador in Huntington Beach.

At first, one might think Murdy and Koonse would clash. Murdy plays a multiple of styles, from alternative rock with his band, the Strange, to pop-jazz with Daniel Ho’s Kiluea and jazz-fusion in a band he co-leads with his wife, pianist Peggy Duesquenel. His debut album, “That Goes to Show Ya” on Time Is Records, is mainstream jazz.

Koonse, son of ex-George Shearing jazz guitarist Dave Koonse, is a strictly jazz specialist who has worked with a variety of artists from singers Mel Torme and Cleo Laine to saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, John’s son, with whom he’ll perform Tuesday at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks.

Beyond that, Koonse and Murdy sound different. Koonse has that warm, rich acoustic jazz tone one associates with such people as Kenny Burrell or Wes Montgomery. Murdy describes his tone as “not traditional, not that dark jazz guitar sound like Burrell, but a much brighter sound.”

Still, the high degree of musicality that each player brings to the bandstand, coupled with an abundance of mutual respect, seems to have made the pairing work. Koonse remembers hearing his cohort when he first arrived at college: “Dave hadn’t done too much jazz playing, but he was a very solid rock guitarist who had a lot of facility on his instrument, and he made progress in jazz very rapidly. He’s really developed.”

Looking back on more recent performances, Koonse noted Murdy’s deft manner of getting out of the way, of not producing sound after sound when silence would suffice. “Dave is willing to give you space, which feels so good,” Koonse said. “He’ll tend to lay out, and that opens the music up.”

Murdy, meanwhile, said on the phone from his home in Yorba Linda that, “Larry’s one of the best up-and-coming guitarists anywhere, not just in Los Angeles.” He feels that Koonse’s style offered him a fresh view of his own musical self. “Harmonically, Larry is so sophisticated. It leads me into a rhythmically punchy role, which both makes me really listen and gives me a lot of room to improvise. It brings things out of me.”

Both guitarists started at a fairly young age--Koonse at 7, Murdy at 11--and were strongly influenced by early teachers. In Murdy’s case, it was Reed Gilchrist of La Habra, who exposed him to classical as well as jazz players. Koonse studied classically with Don Amori, then was guided in jazz by Jimmy Wyble.

At El Matador, the guitarists will concentrate on pop standards and jazz classics--a far cry from the “loud and offensive” stuff Murdy jokingly said he plays with the Strange, but an opportunity for two artists to pool their collective if dissimilar resources. “I’m looking forward to seeing how this will evolve,” Koonse said.

* Dave Murdy and Larry Koonse play tonight at 8:30 and 10:15 at El Matador, 16903 Algonquin St., Huntington Beach. No cover, no minimum. (714) 846-5337.