On his eclectic collaboration with jazz bassist Sam Albright and percussionist James Clark, accordionist Greg Speck temporarily steps away from the zydeco-centric sphere he’s long been associated with. But as evidenced by the 10 originals Speck penned since his relocation to New Orleans a decade ago, he stays true to his artistic identity with quirky humor and a penchant for the unpredictable.

He writes about homeowner’s woes on “New Or-Leans,” carefully pronouncing “leans,” a reference to his gravity-challenged shotgun abode. He tackles the age-old saga of writer non-productivity on the reggae-thrusting “Writer’s Block” with such witty lines as “No muses here, they have died of old age/ gotta get a day job to pay my bills.” Ideologically speaking, “Stranger in a Stranger Land” is significant since the overriding message is love for mankind.

The most ingeniously produced track isn’t an original but an instrumental rendition of the nursery rhyme song “Frѐre Jacques.” Speck layered a Cajun and several piano-note accordions, launching them at different times to resemble a round, like how the song is sung. Mesmerizing and mystifying, it’s similar to watching spinning propeller blades of a wind turbine farm without the worry of driving off the road.