Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra - Rockinghorse (2010)

By its nature, boogie-woogie doesn’t change, so why should Jools Holland -- its leading advocate in the new millennium; hell, its leading advocate in the post-punk world -- switch things up for Rockinghorse, his 2010 album with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra? The sound remains the same, and so do many of the songs -- the standards “Got My Mojo Working,” “This Train,” “Tain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do,” “What a Wonderful World,” and “You Are so Beautiful” are all hauled out -- and guests as far-ranging as Allen Toussaint and Alison Moyet, Chas & Dave and Michael McDonald slip into the framework without calling attention to themselves. Everything here is about the swing, the rollicking pianos, and the lazy blues crawls, and if the production is just a touch too clean, Jools and his orchestra compensate with spirited performances. Never for one minute does the group seem tired playing the same old changes, and if you’ve never tired of hearing them, it’ll be hard not to enjoy Rockinghorse at least a little bit.