OJT + B

Left to their own devices, Ken Lovern and his jazz organ trio — with guitarist Brian Baggett and drummer Kevin Frazee — are consummate players who use every inch of open space to prove it. But as the backing unit for soul-jazz vocalist Bukeka Shoals, Lovern's OJT goes the restrained route. As a result, OJT + B equals a schooled R&B experience that mixes in a bit of Motown mojo with vintage vocal jazz. Shoals ably channels Ella Fitzgerald, but she's also not afraid to represent her own generation by covering Michael Jackson and other maestros of modern pop.