He Does It His Way : Guitarist John Morell, known for his work with drummer Shelly Manne, stands on his own merits with his new quartet, playing only his own music.

If you happen to catch John Morell’s exciting new quartet, don’t expect to hear lots of classic standards, like “My Funny Valentine” or “Satin Doll.” The guitarist, best known for his work with great drummer Shelly Manne’s sextet, says tunes like those have their place, but he’d rather play his own work.

“Doing my own tunes, I can control the setting. It’s like a painter making the painting,” says Morell, an assured, respected artist whose band appears Monday and May 15 at the Baked Potato. “Writing gives me the opportunity to make the music grow and flow instead of just going with someone else’s attitude. Here, it’s my attitude.”

Tall, mustached Morell is 48 and lives in Van Nuys with Carol, his wife of 27 years, and their sons Justin, 22, and Christopher, 14.

His music, as heard on the recent “Trading Places” CD on Rough Cut Records, has a modern bite and gritty edge that makes for both stimulating and rewarding listening. It swings with intelligence.

“My stuff is definitely jazz,” he says. “But it’s not what’s known as straight-ahead, or mainstream, jazz. It’s more contemporary-oriented, like what guitarist John Scofield or saxophonist Mike Brecker might play. Or the kind of music Miles Davis, whom I’ve always been into, did in the ‘60s.”

Getting Morell to be more specific about his tunes is not easy.

“I like a song that has . . .” he says, pausing, grabbing the air for words, “say, that starts easy then gets very complicated. I like to make the tunes move, so that there’s relaxation, then tension, then release. You can’t control that unless you’re writing the material.”

Morell calls himself “an aggressive player” and wants listeners to “get really energized” by his playing. But he wants them to have a meaningful experience at the same time.

“I’m trying to find a way to make my kind of jazz accessible,” he says. “Even if people don’t understand it intellectually, I want them to feel it emotionally. That’s what I’m after.”

Justin Randi, who books acts at the Baked Potato, says Morell is succeeding.

“His band is great,” says Randi. “They can play for real, they really know what they’re doing.”

At the Baked Potato, Morell will appear with a longtime friend and colleague, drummer John Guerin. The two first played together when they were in their early 20s, working with a trio that featured organist Steve Bohanon, a talented keyboardist who died in an automobile accident in 1969.

Since then, Morell and Guerin have often played together for film and TV soundtracks or at recording sessions for albums. The guitarist figures he’s played on 40 films, and countless TV soundtracks and recordings. But he and Guerin hadn’t joined forces in a jazz context until Morell formed his quartet a year ago. “He’s like a train going through you,” Morell says of Guerin. “He gives me inspiration.”

Also on hand Monday will be Rich Ruttenberg (organ), and Neil Stubenhaus (bass), who will be replaced on May 15 by Dave Carpenter.

Morell is happy to be performing once again with an organist.

“Piano and guitar can get in the way of each other, taking up the space,” he says. But organ, though powerful, fits better, perhaps because most organists don’t try to fill in the space, and because organ and guitar are more compatible with each other, he says. Morell, a native of Niagara Falls, N.Y., was born to play guitar. His father was a guitarist, as was his grandfather. His brother also plays the instrument. Morell was introduced to jazz by his father, who was also his teacher. “He’d come home and we’d play tunes,” he says. “First I’d play the jazz, and he’d accompany me, then we’d switch. It was a great learning experience.”

Some of the highlights of Morell’s jazz life include the concert he played with Gil Evans’ orchestra and Davis’ quintet in Berkeley in 1968. “That was thrilling,” he says. Another high point was his 1970-74 tenure with drummer Manne.

Since then he’s played with a lot of top local talent, worked in recording studios, operated his own studio and flourished in a side career as a woodworker.

About a decade ago, Morell temporarily gave up playing to focus on building furniture. “But I was very unhappy,” he says. “I was paying the bills, but I wondered what was I doing, giving up something I’d done my whole life.”

Now Morell says that he has to play, no matter the cost. “I lose money each time the quartet appears,” he says. He pays the musicians he works with well and he pays to rent and transport an organ to the club. “It drives me nuts,” he adds, “but if I don’t do it, I don’t play.”

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WHERE AND WHEN

What: John Morell’s quartet.

Location: Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, North Hollywood.

Hours: 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. Monday and May 15.

Price: $10 plus a two-drink minimum.

Call: (818) 980-1615.