(Charleston Square Recordings)

Veteran flugelhorn and trumpet player Tony Guerrero has that ‘sweet sound’ that horn players work hard to achieve. On his latest recording, Blue Room, that sound comes through, and so too does the sense of joy in his playing. The recording is a finger-snapper that grabs you and doesn’t let go from beginning to end, morphing from a quartet effort into a multi-horn big band at times. The project’s 13 tracks are comprised of nine popular standards, as well as two written by Guerrero. He’s joined on the effort by a solid group of musicians, including pianist Llew Matthews, bassist Dave Enos, drummer Matt Johnson, guitarist Jamie Findlay, as well as saxophonists Doug Webb and Rober Kyle, pianist Frank Giebels and Hammond B3 organist Joe Bagg. Fantastic performances by all make this a stellar product that must be heard.