As the title suggests, trumpeter, vocalist and composer Leroy Jones focuses March of the Toddlers on children, though there’s plenty of music to keep their parents happy. In other words, this ain’t no coma-inducing “Baby Shark.”

A drum cadence supplied by Barnaby Gold and Jones’ bright trumpet heralds the arrival of the “March of the Toddlers,” the opening cut that suggests the days of knights in shining armor. It is the only selection that includes the sousaphone of Rob Espino.

The rest of the nine cuts, all coming from Jones’ pen, tend to swing or sway in a modern jazz groove. The tunes that include vocals, like “Fun and Games,” direct the lyrics to the kids while melodically and structurally they remain sophisticated. The question could be whether youngsters boast the attention span to not drift away during Nobu Ozaki’s fine bass solo. Gold kicks it up a notch on his playful solo.

“Pipu,” which is a fun title and talks about friendship, stands as a song that children can sing along with. Participation in the music through singing or dancing always makes it more enjoyable.

While the words of “The Alphabet” are naturally the same as they’ve been sung in schools for decades—“Now I know my ABCs…”—Jones gives the tune a much-appreciated Latin rhythm. Pianist Paul Longstreth keeps the melody at the core before Jones’ blows in the spirit of the tinge. It goes out with the leader singing “La la la la la la la,” which offers the kids another sing-along opportunity.

The albums ends with “Nighty Night,” which one might assume would be a lullaby. Instead, it’s an instrumental that’s vaguely reminiscent of a soundtrack from an old Western movie.

That Jones doesn’t touch on his New Orleans roots stylistically or lyrically is also somewhat surprising. It might have added a bit of a hometown touch to the album. As expected, however, March of the Toddlers is filled with Jones’ always beautifully articulated blowing.