The great New Orleans electric violin player Michael Ward preferred the term “contemporary instrumental music” to what has commonly been called smooth jazz. Ward’s description applies well to pianist/keyboardist Michael Torregano Jr.’s album The M. Teezy Project. Michael Jr. hails from the talented Torregano musical family recognized for their work in the traditional jazz realm. His father is pianist Michael Sr. and his uncle the late clarinetist Joseph Torregano.

Michael Jr., a graduate of the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), certainly displays his straight-up jazz roots when he moves from the electric keys to the acoustic piano on swinging numbers like “I Have Arrived.” However, more prominent on the album is the funky-edged, dance music, such as the opener “Next Level.” Providing that rhythmic base for the first four tracks is none other than “Mean” Willie Green of Neville Brothers’ fame.

The saxophonists, who are major players on the disc, include the versatile Alexander Geddes, who doubles on flute, and Gregory Agid, whose round tone enhances “Let’s Make Some Funk.”

All the material on The M. Teezy Project comes from the pen of Michael Torregano Jr. Both the album and Torregano sound like New Orleans. They’ve got those jazz roots, they’ve got that funk and they’ve got that contemporary instrumental style that gets people heading to the dance floor.