Guitar probably isn't the first instrument fans and musicians think of when pondering jazz.

But this doesn't mean there aren't plenty of six-string spellcasters who've blessed the form. Wes Montgomery, Eddie Durham, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Herb Ellis, Pat Metheny, Larry Coryell, Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, Blair Thornton, Allen Holdsworth, Mike Stern, John Scofield, Julian Lage ...

Yes, I threw "Blair Thornton," formerly of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, in that list just to see if you're paying attention. You weren't, were you?

Anyway, what's important is that another jazz guitar luminary is earning his way onto that illustrious list. Russell Malone, who brings his quartet Saturday to the Side Door Jazz Club, has been making important recordings — his latest album is "Time for the Dancers" — and onstage contributions for years now. From his adept fingers, Malone spins country, gospel, bebop, swing and works from the Songbook into his own distinctive idiom. It's music to be savored and experienced — particularly in a live setting.

Russell Malone Quartet, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Side Door Jazz Club, 85 Lyme St., Old Lyme; $55; (860) 434-0886.