Bullock’s Talent Lost Amid the Confusion

The generous description for guitarist Hiram Bullock’s opening set at Catalina Bar & Grill on Tuesday night might include the words “casual” and “unplanned.” He was, after all, quick to joke about barely knowing two of the musicians in his ensemble, and shared his uncertainty about what to play with his moderate-size audience.

At one point, Bullock even asked if there was anything anyone wanted to hear, a question that was greeted with stony silence from the room. And the pieces that were played generally unfolded with little sense of organization or cohesion. So, given the circumstances, one suspects that the veteran guitarist, who has been around long enough to be a realist about these matters, wouldn’t resist the application of other descriptive words. Words such as “confused” and “chaotic.”

If there was a reason why Bullock would start a six-night run at an important L.A. venue with unfamiliar, and presumably unrehearsed, players, it was never shared with the audience. (Pianist Dave Delhomme, who--for reasons not evident in the performance--was identified as a “featured” artist with the Bullock Trio, had worked with the guitarist before; drummer Teddy Campbell and bassist Alex Al apparently had not.)

The result was a series of numbers in which Bullock generally started out with some sort of rhythmic vamp, while the other players listened intently, trying to figure out where the music was going to go. The initial level of confusion was so palpable that Bullock once alluded humorously to their apprehension about following his chord changes. Each tune eventually sorted itself out into some sort of togetherness, but the process, even in its better moments, was random, producing random results.

And that was unfortunate, because Bullock, whose credits stretch from the “Saturday Night Live band” and David Letterman’s late-night show to gigs with everyone from the Brecker Brothers and Paul Simon to Sting and Barbra Streisand, is a versatile, imaginative guitarist. Despite the disarray in his set, for example, he played an eclectic program of tunes that included his unique rendering of “Night in Tunisia,” “Ode to Billy Joe,” a soul tune or two and a selection of various forms of blues. And he played them all extremely well, moving easily from stinging rock guitar wails to fast-fingered fusion lines.

But he did so with minimal help from his associates. Al was a generally supportive bassist, quick to respond to Bullock’s whispered chord identifications and rhythm patterns. But Campbell seemed locked into a single funk rhythm pattern that showed little variation, regardless of the tune being played. And Delhomme appeared generally disconnected, his solos alternating edgy-sounding note clusters with awkward segments of silence.

Bullock presumably will pull his group into shape as the week goes on. But that won’t be much comfort to the audience that showed up for opening night, undoubtedly expecting a lot more than they got.

* The Hiram Bullock Trio featuring Dave Delhomme. Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. $13 cover charge, Thursday at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 10:30 p.m. and Sunday at 9 p.m. $15 cover charge Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. With two-drink minimum purchase. (323) 466-2210.