A sleek, smooth-riding jazz vehicle arrived in San Diego Wednesday evening, driven by the up-and-coming guitarist, Graham Dechter. Traveling with him were bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton, and pianist Tamir Hendelman, and together the quartet took the audience at Birch North Park Theatre along for a comfy ride.

Graham Dechter: Right on Time.

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It’s not very common to see a 23-year-old leading a combo on Holly Hofmann’s jazz series, but the very fact that tastemistress Hofmann booked this youngster was reason enough to check him out.

Dechter plays electric guitar with a clean, light tone reminiscent of Barney Kessel. His style owes almost as much to swing as it does to bop, and his harmonies, solos, and arrangements reveal a surprising mastery of a mainstream jazz vocabulary (that is, if such a thing exists any more; “of what used to be the mainstream” is perhaps more accurate) in one so young.

His group played with omnipresent groove and precision, and most of the selections heard Wednesday night were jazz standards (over the course of 2 sets he played his debut CD in its entirety) such as “In a Mello Tone,” “Wave,” “The Nearness of You,” or “Squatty Roo.”

He was ably backed by L.A. jazz mainstays Hamilton and Clayton, who ensured the music was imparted with well-oiled momentum. Clayton was given a chance to step out in the Ray Brown chart, “Lined With a Groove,” an appropriate choice as Clayton played on Brown’s old bass. When playing pizzicato, Clayton is a swingmeister, but his bowed work on bass is embarrassingly out-of-tune—acceptable in older times or more laid back circumstances, but in the context of this group’s tightness, it calls unnecessary attention to itself.

In addition to his formidable time-keeping, Hamilton had a few neat tricks up his sleeves, such as a drum solo played entirely with his bare hands on “Wave” (he literally slapped those skins), and an impressive 6-chorus solo on “Squatty Roo” which miraculously kept the groove going while always lining out the 8-bar phrases.

Tamir Hendelman gave Dechter sensitive support and filled in with some fanciful solos. Hendelman was the one player here who relished pushing the envelope of the slick jazz machine Dechter brought to North Park. Hendelman had a solid sense of just how far out he could play on a solo or in his comping without derailing the mechanism of the group’s harmonic and rhythmic groove. He seemed to enjoy those moments when he could steer the music a little off-track, but he also knew when to rein it in and get back on track. His solo in “Squatty Roo” was excellent seat-of-the-pants playing, and his work in the blues number that ended the show was amusing in its assured virtuosity (those glissandi into the melody were fabulously played and timed perfectly at the climax) and its playing with time, turning his solo into a spastic frenzy and then bringing it back to those good old 12 bars.

Dechter is in such an early stage of his career that it’s foolish to make predictions about where he’ll be even a year or two from now. There were two moments in the show, though, that pointed to some possible directions for him.

Dechter took “Squatty Roo” at a fast bop speed, and he showed off some solid, old-school bebop chops that were held back elsewhere in the program. It was in a moment of danger, when the chords were whipping by so fast that the possibility of actually hitting a wrong note or two, that I sensed Dechter letting whatever was inside him come out, unfiltered and raw, and to me, in the context of his control and precision all evening long, this was one of the most exciting parts of the evening.

The other moment was in Dechter’s selection of “With Every Breath I Take,” from Cy Coleman’s sadly neglected score to City of Angels. (Every jazz musician should give City of Angles a listen or re-listen, as there are plenty of standard-worthy tunes in that show.) Here, Dechter played a soulful melody over the counterpoint of Clayton’s bowed bass, and throughout the 1st chorus, different combination of instruments in the ensemble refracted Coleman’s lovely melody in a very satisfying way. When the whole group kicked in on the second chorus, it was magical, and Dechter’s solo revealed more of a classical lyricism that was not found elsewhere on the show.

One thing I think I can predict—whatever path Dechter follows, there will be fans willing to plunk money down to hear him play. I can’t wait to hear what he’s up to next time he comes to town.

To hear a few complete tracks off Graham Dechter’s CD, click here.