(release date: November 15, 2024)

Keyboardist Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne (having received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jus’ Blues Foundation, among several others) has assembled another highly engaging album that will, no doubt, earn him more acclaim. His new release, Ooh Yeah!, is one of those discs where each track could easily be twice as long. He is the king of establishing an immediate groove and inviting the listener along.

What is fascinating about this collection of songs is the variety of sounds that are achieved along the ride. With his legendary boogie-woogie as the driving force, Wayne makes some entertaining and instrumentally impressive stops. The musicians featured are: Kenny Wayne (piano, keyboards, vocals), Joey Dimarco (drums), Nick Succi (bass), James Anthony (guitar), Bucky Burger (drums), James Rasmussen (bass), Jimmy Bowskill (bass, strings, guitar, banjo), Ian McKeown (drums, percussion), Adam Warner (drums), Kaven Jalbert (tenor sax), Remi Cormier (trumpet), Mathieu Mousseau (baritone sax), Salena (vocals).

Equally effective as the musicians are the compositions themselves. There are moments when classiffying the album as one genre or another is a futile act. This album is alive with surprises. These songs soar in different directions, and yet are remarkably cohesive in their voice. Ooh Yeah! is the sound of musicians playing exactly what they mean. Oh yes, indeed..