Saxman Wallace delivers an intense set

TENOR saxophonist Bennie Wallace didn’t waste any time getting down to business Tuesday night at the Jazz Bakery. Swarming like a cloud of hornets into the thicket of rapid-fire notes that make up Miles Davis’ “Little Willie Leaps,” he set the pace for a program of music that was as compellingly virtuosic as it was musically engaging.

Although Wallace has been recording since the late ‘70s and wrote the score for several films, including “White Men Can’t Jump,” his visibility among the wider jazz audience has been spotty. In part, this traces to the emotional intensity of his playing, in part to the odd blend of old and new elements in his style, which combines a meaty, Coleman Hawkins/Ben Webster-inspired tone with helter-skelter intervallic leaps reminiscent of Eric Dolphy.

After roaring through the Davis tune with a solo that scoured the entire range of his horn -- sometimes in two or three notes -- Wallace took on a classic, “Under a Blanket of Blue.” Here, his sound took precedence, its muscularity balanced by an inherent emotional warmth, occasionally spiced with bold splashes of notes.

The balance of the set took similar pathways. The old spiritual “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” triggered a surprisingly operatic outing from Wallace, his phrases shaping near-visual theatrical gestures. A pair of standards -- “Moon Song” and the much more frequently heard “Willow Weep for Me” -- stimulated other aspects of his always provocative style. Some solos, with their freely expository, multihued qualities, recalled the spontaneous interaction between artist and canvas of Jackson Pollock; some were tinged with the moody, late-night atmosphere of steamy Manhattan streets.

Wallace’s partner in the front line, guitarist Anthony Wilson, has not usually been identified with such a broadly eclectic approach to jazz. But he adapted superbly, juxtaposing single-note lines against stormy note clusters and occasional piercing high notes.

Bassist Danton Boller was firm and steady as an accompanist and a soloist, and the veteran drummer Alvin Queen brought joyous enthusiasm to every twist and turn in Wallace’s adventurous improvisational progressions.

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Bennie Wallace

Where: Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City

When: 8 and 9:30 p.m. today through Sunday

Price: $25

Info: (310) 271-9039