Records are rated on a scale of one (poor) to four (excellent) stars.

Jazz

DAVE STEVENS BIG BAND: "SoundStorm." Digital Visionary.

Combine the brass-driven big bands of Stan Kenton (emphasis on trombones), Maynard Ferguson (incredible high-note lead trumpeter), and Buddy Rich (give the drummer some) and you get the powerhouse Dave Stevens Big Band.

The DSBB, a premier 18-to-20-piece ensemble based in Erie, comes straight at you and seemingly seeks to knock you back, if not out of, your seat. It's a generally controlled power, though, with a keen sense of dynamics, unlike some big bands that simply are loud.

The DSBB, formed in 1992 as a smaller pickup group to play an Erie high school basketball tournament, grabs your attention immediately with John Amidon's "jungle drum" intro on the opening "Caravan," arranged creatively by John Wasson. The Duke Ellington/Juan Tizol piece is taken up-tempo and reaches not one but several climaxes, screaming brass roiling behind the hard-edged alto saxophone of Andy Weinzler. Amidon takes a lengthy, exciting solo.

Again, the trombones are in the forefront for a medium blues titled "A Little Minor Booze," written and arranged by longtime Ferguson saxophonist Willie Maiden. Weinzler and trumpeter Jeff Jarvis are high-voltage soloists.

The DSBB takes it down a full notch to the ballad "A Time for Love," with the five-member trombone section playing the lovely melody. Later, though, the band can't resist building the piece to a full-out crescendo.

The great Bill Holman arranged "Malaga" for the Kenton band. Remindful of the dramatic Spanish feel of "Malaguena," "Malaga" is given a stirring reading, then a swinging one, with impressive solos from Jarvis and tenor saxist Ron Paladino.

Trombonist Randy Purcell arranged Streisand's smash "The Way We Were" for Maynard's band. After lead trumpeter Jeff Gibbens' ultra-high-note intro, Purcell solos, then the two get into a rousing call-and-response solo section.

The saxophone section (or woodwinds) and the full band are showcased on sax man Don Menza's "Groovin' Hard," with four soloists featured.

The CD's lone weak spot is the flawed performance of the great Kenton orchestra arrangement (drummer Dee Barton) of the wonderful ballad "Here's That Rainy Day." The band seems inhibited and unsure and perhaps a bit out of tune, so the usually powerful piece falls a bit flat.

To order the CD, call 1-814-455-8363 or go to www.davestevensbigband.com.

-- Bob Protzman

DOCTOR LONNIE SMITH: "Too Damn Hot!" Palmetto.

In another time, B3 organ veteran Lonnie Smith likely would have named his new CD after the Cole Porter song, "Too Darn Hot."

Either way, the album's title is a bit misleading. Most will assume that all or most of the music will be as promised -- hot -- as in fast tempos and lots of volume.

We get some of that, of course, but "Dr." Smith is too imaginative, experienced and versatile to get caught in that kind of predictable organ combo performance.

Instead, he treats us to an absolutely gorgeous, oh-so-slow and soft and pretty version of Horace Silver's "Silver Serenade" that is the highlight of the 10-tune program. Smith and guitarist Peter Bernstein provide delicate solos and create a lovely sound in harmony.

Not far behind is the understated Smith original called "Back Track," that features an almost polite and very catchy backbeat from drummer Greg Hutchinson. Then there's the slo-o-ow groove of Smith's "One Cylinder," and a waltz-time "Someday My Prince Will Come."

Even the title tune is taken at a medium-slow tempo, featuring drummer Fukushi Tainaka's brushes. Smith can't resist, though, and soon plays the song with some urgency, finally punctuating the ending with a one-note shriek.

For those who insist on "hot," Smith and cohorts deliver with the funky, second-line rhythm of "Norleans," a snapping "whap" beginning and recurring single note in "The Whip," and a pair of way up-tempo numbers. The closer, "Evil Turn," especially swings, with Smith, Bernstein and Tainaka showing off their bop chops.

-- Bob Protzman

Classical

GEORGE VOSBURGH: "Trumpeter's Heritage," Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Arnie Roth. Four Winds.

If a rookie quarterback gets one, someone needs to name a sandwich after renowned local trumpeter George Vosburgh. The principal of the Pittsburgh Symphony showcases his versatility here with five varied concertos of the trumpet tradition. A Romantic work, Oskar Boehme's Trumpet Concerto in E minor brings out a warm, broad timbre from him. It's the only recording of this pleasant concerto in print (but not a "world premiere orchestral recording" as the liner notes claim). There's also a well-played score of Henri Tomasi's jazz-inspired Trumpet Concerto.

But Vosburgh shines best in three early works. Johann Neruda's Trumpet Concerto in E flat was originally written for French horn, and Vosburgh's measured phrasing and smooth tone make one forget that. He plays the piccolo trumpet for J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and Johann Fasch's Concerto in D Major for Trumpet, Oboe, Strings and Continuo.

For a performer known for his power, the delicacy here is remarkable. The Largo of Fasch's concerto finds Vosburgh playing with an impossibly soft timbre, floating heavenly above the orchestra.

Conductor Arnie Roth gets an adequate response from the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and the Musica Anima Chamber Orchestra (Brandenburg only). But it hardly matters: This is a tour de force for the trumpet.

-- Andrew Druckenbrod

ERIC MOE: "The Waltz Project Revisited." Albany.

Move over, Chopin, new waltzes coming through.

University of Pittsburgh composer Eric Moe, also an accomplished pianist, has revived one of the more fascinating musical undertakings of the last 25 years, the Waltz Project of the 1970s. It brought together composers to see if the genre still had relevance.

Hardly anyone may dance the waltz anymore, but artistic piano "portraits" of waltzes (as Stravinsky once described Chopin's) still have a place, judging from how many here are enjoyable and substantive. Moe took 11 from the old collection and asked for 11 more.

The names are from every walk, but Moe admirably plays them in their style: Charles Wuorinen, Milton Babbitt, Lou Harrison, Wayne Peterson, Philip Glass, Lee Hyla, Joan Tower, Hayes Biggs and more. Moe's propulsive "Pulaski Skyway Waltz" and fellow Pitt composers Mathew Rosenblum's inventive "Shadow Waltz" and Roger Zahab's programmatic "Levitation of pianos during a waltz" are worthy additions to the disc.

The bottom line, however, is that despite the different approaches, no composer betrays the genre's accessibility. No academic exercises here, just one-two-three, one-two-three ...

-- Andrew Druckenbrod