Judith Owen Wails in Pop, Jazz and Soul

Welsh singer-songwriter and pianist Judith Owen entertained her Friday audience at the Getty Center with a whip-smart mix of observations about romance, comments on her wide-ranging influences and endearing banter that neatly underscored her playfully self-given tag: cerebral rock chick.

Truthfully, she sounded more like a pop-jazz-soul chick during the free 90-minute concert, held in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium as part of the Getty’s eclectic weekly performance series. Owen remarked that the setting was more “highbrow” than the Westside nightclub the Joint, where she has a Tuesday residency. Those shows have attracted such luminaries as Van Dyke Parks and Richard Thompson, and Owen also recently gained exposure in animated form on “The Simpsons.”

Abetted by drummer Herman Matthews and bassist Sean Hurley, Owen previewed her forthcoming collection, “12 Arrows.” At times attacking her keyboard with feline ferocity, she sang in a lush, throaty voice that growled or whispered with equally seductive ease.

She showed a jaunty side with the Kinks-esque “Blighty,” but displayed a deep soul streak on Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and the wry, love-stinks funk of “Walking the Dog.” But Owen proved vulnerable too, celebrating true love in the eerily poignant “Scares Me,” a dynamically languid duet with guest artist Julia Fordham.

Judith Owen plays every Tuesday at the Joint, 8771 W. Pico Blvd., L.A. 8:15 p.m. Free ($5 after 8:30 p.m.). (310) 275-2619.