A & E

There's never been any question about Kenny Wayne Shepherd's devotion to the blues. His execution? Well, that's fair game. Shepherd has always seemed more technically adroit than inspired, his stunning array of licks often seeming to be little more than paint-by-numbers exercises.

Not any more.

"10 Days Out," will convert purists, naysayers and anyone else who doubts Shepherd as a bluesman. Recorded during a 2004 road trip through the South with Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton, the rhythm section from Double Trouble, and featuring performances with B. B.King, Hubert Sumlin and the late Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, it's a blues version of a pilgrim's progress. Shepherd's playing is tastefully understated, always serving the songs and the performers. There's an almost volcanic intensity to his collaboration with King on "The Thrill is Gone," but it's Shepherd's pairings with relative unknowns that are best. Cootie Stark's "U-Haul" is a homespun shuffling blues, and Shepherd has never been better fingerpicking his way through John Dee Holeman's "Chapel Hill Boogie."

There's a lovely acoustic duet with Piedmont blues legend Etta Baker on "Nashville Rag," and Neal "Big Daddy" Pattman does a thumping version of "Big Daddy Boogie." Both Baker and Pattman have since died, making these performances all the more memorable.

-- Regis Behe

'New York Samba Jazz Quintet'
Hendrik Meurkens (Zoho)

"New York Samba Jazz Quintet," named after the band the album features, shows the double life of Hendrik Meurkens. Known best as the biggest rival to Toots Thielemans on harmonica, Meurkens also is a fine vibes player. The band, therefore, takes two directions. It is a straight-ahead jazz band on pieces such as "Vamos Nessa," which is built around Hendriks' vibes and the sax of Jed Levy. Then, Meurkens switches to harmonica and the work is Brazil-oriented on tunes such as "Flor De Lis" or the Antonio Carlos Jobim classic, "Triste." Because of the instrumental switching of Meurkens and Levy, who also plays flute, the band takes on different sounds frequently. The album also displays Hendriks' work as a composer on tunes such as the lilting "Prague in March" and "Bolero Para Paquito." It was recorded in Cecil's Jazz Club in New Jersey, owned by Pittsburgh native and drummer Cecil Brooks III.

-- Bob Karlovits

'All Jazzed Up'
Adam Brock (Self-produced)

Had singer Adam Brock written some new material or performed songs that weren't so familiar, his "All Jazzed Up" would have scored an even higher rating. The performance of the singer is that good. The Washington County native now studying in Harrisburg presents 14 songs such as "Oh Lady Be Good," "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" and "When I Fall in Love." He has a voice with power, but always is in control. Brock also has a good sense of scat-singing. His ability to handle uptempo material, such as the classic "Frim-Fram Sauce" is easily his strongest suit. Slower songs, such as "When I Fall in Love," are done with a good sense of melody, but with less imagination. He does do a touching job on "Blame it On My Youth," though. The album also features good backup work from a trio led by pianist John D'Amico and a guest visit by guitarist Dan Shields and saxophonist Steve Guinta. We deserve to hear more of Brock. The album is available at www.CDBABY.com.

-- Bob Karlovits

'Beethoven # 2'
Paul Lewis, piano (Harmonia Mundi)

The second volume of young English pianist Paul Lewis' traversal of the 32 piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven is a delight to the ears and spirit. The sonorous beauty of Harmonia Mundi's recording, made in Berlin, is remarkable.

Lewis is a pianist of rare sensitivities, with fabulous technique that he uses for gentle gradations of phrasing and for distinctions of sonority in chords. He favors broad tempi that, in some of the nine sonatas in this three-disc set, recall the manner of the young Daniel Barenboim in his celebrated recordings for EMI Classics.

Lewis concludes this recording of nine pieces with a deeply impressive account of the "Hammerklavier," Beethoven's longest and most difficult sonata. The maturity of the way Lewis plays the slow movement carries over into compelling focus for the fugal finale. Bravo!

-- Mark Kanny

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