Kevin Flatt - People I Like (self-released)

There are lots of multi-instrumentalists out there in Musicland – that’s no surprise. But how many of them are experts in a pair of instruments as disparate as the guitar and the trumpet? Austinite Kevin Flatt has for years been swinging both axes as part of the city’s thriving jazz and blues scenes; People I Like is his latest album as a leader. Despite his skills, the record is less about his instrumental virtuosity than his chops as a composer. He hits the styles he’s usually called upon to play with the soul jazz nugget “The Drawing Board,” the lush ballad “Old Puppers” and the funky blues “Chillax.” But Flatt also moves beyond his perceived comfort zone. “Eventide” thickens up his six-string sound for a slick stab at moody rock, while he opens and closes the record with “Almost Alone” and “Space Between,” atmospheric solo guitar pieces that slide in from another, dreamier dimension. Clearly a man of many talents, Flatt exercises most of them on People I Know.