Fishman ventures well beyond labels at Lunaria

Pop music and jazz have a special fondness for genre labeling. “Rock,” “country,” “funk,” “rap,” “bebop,” “fusion” and on and on -- the labels are endless. And, while they may offer handy categories for the bins in retail stores, they don’t necessarily define an individual artist.

Howard Fishman, who performed Thursday at Lunaria, sings with a sound reminiscent of Lou Reed, mixing sardonic accents with a vulnerable subtext. His guitar playing ranges from a country twang to a strumming drive recalling Freddie Green’s work with the Count Basie rhythm section. Add to that his songs, with their juxtaposition of poignant wistfulness and dark emotional intensity, toss in arrangements that allow wide open spaces for jazz-driven improvisations, and you have a performer who defies idiom.

Fishman is still relatively unknown, despite complimentary reviews from tastemaker publications, and his one-night gig at Lunaria was his first Los Angeles appearance. At a time when performers in virtually every genre are trying to stretch their stylistic boundaries, Fishman refuses to acknowledge that boundaries exist.

He offered “Sweet Lorraine” in a light-hearted swing groove. His own tune, “Mary Ann,” was a gentle love song in ‘70s singer-songwriter style, enlivened by a Miles Davis-tinged trumpet solo, while Tom Waits’ “All the World Is Green” added a darker element to the mix.

Fishman’s songs were framed by the superb playing of his associates -- trumpeter Kevin Louis, violinist Sam Bardfeld, bassist Jim Whitney -- with their impeccable improvisations and supportive ensemble passages providing the perfect setting for a performer who, like Norah Jones, is positing a music that happily transcends labeling.