Joey DeFrancesco - More Music (Mack Avenue)

Once the wünderkind of organ trio jazz, multi-instrumentalist Joey DeFrancesco is now a veteran of more than three decades on the scene. Having added trumpet and saxophone to his arsenal, the Pennsylvania native long ago expanded beyond the soul jazz with which he started, and his latest album More Music encompasses pretty much everything at which he’s tried his hand. Bandmates guitarist/organist Lucas Brown and drummer Michael Ode give DeFrancesco the flexibility to follow his muse to whichever instrument with which he wants to lead. He takes up the sax for the hard bopper “Lady G” and the creamy ballad “And If You Please” (on which he also croons like Frank Sinatra), lays down some muted trumpet (inspired by his work with Miles Davis near the end of the latter’s life) on the post bopping “Where to Go,” tickles the electric piano ivories for the snappy “This Time Around” and sits down at the piano for the melodic “In Times of Reflection.” He doesn’t neglect the instrument with which he’s most associated, though, ripping the Hammond up on the finger-popping “Soul Dancing,” the grooving “Free,” the bluesy “Roll With It” and the funky title track. Presenting a variety of styles with which he’s explored over the years, More Music lives up to its name.