Former Roomful Of Blues guitarist Ronnie Earl makes a daring leap into the field of blues-jazz on his Telarc debut, Healing Time. As the title might suggest, Earl’s on a mission: to spread love in a time of hate. And while good music does that always, his real agenda is melding his entire musical worldview into one easily glimpsed panorama. Love is good, but it’s nice to have Jimmy McGriff on organ, as well, isn’t it?

Although his choice of covers stretches from Muddy Waters to Pharaoh Sanders, the lines between blues and jazz stay drawn here, even as the coiled threat of Earl’s six-string attacks the opening of “Catfish Blues” like it owed him money and spits near-silent venom in the spaces floating between the chords of Duke Pearson’s “Idle Moments.” “Blues For Shawn” comes closest to capturing the synthesis Earl was looking for; the rest of the time, it’s strictly one from Column A and one from column B as a greasy shuffle like “Lunch at R&M’s” sits uneasily next to the aptly-titled nuances that dwell inside “Glimpses Of Serenity.”

Of course, if this kind of thing doesn’t bother you, just ignore me and enjoy. Earl, ably backed by most of his second band, the Broadcasters, and digitally recorded to within an inch of his life, has never sounded better. However, this isn’t the blues-jazz fusion we’re promised in the liner notes. It’s only fantastic in two separate dimensions. You could do much worse.