As the new generation of traditional jazz bands in New Orleans matures, many of the musicians are exploring the deep roots of the genre and discovering numerous gems in the catalog of lesser-known artists. At the top of the heap is the Smoking Time Jazz Club.

Fronted by vocalist Sarah Peterson, the group’s latest album, Mean Tones and High Notes, explicitly lays out the band’s philosophy on the back cover: “Played with reverence and gratitude for those who created and lived this music.” The 13 cuts on the album are delineated by songwriter and/or the band’s favorite version.

So, you get classics like the opener “Willie the Weeper” with the added detail that though it was written by Melrose et al in 1904, the band’s preferred version is Louis Armstrong’s recording with his Hot 7. On other tunes, like Trixie Smith’s “Railroad Blues” and Fess Williams and the Royal Flush Orchestra’s “Playing My Saxophone,” the songwriter and the band’s favorite version are one and the same.

All the musicians on the album are standouts, particularly Peterson’s evocative vocals and Brett Gardner’s stellar work on six-string banjo and guitar. Gardner has clearly studied the style of the late great Danny Barker—a musician who was known to play both instruments.

Reedman James Evans alternates between various clarinets and C-melody saxophone. On the aforementioned “Railroad Blues,” the horns take their cue from the Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s “Livery Stable Blues,” but instead of mimicking the sound of barnyard animals, they simulate the sound of a train that is “Alabama Bound.”

Mean Tones and High Notes is a welcome addition to the list of fine albums being produced by the latest generation of New Orleans musicians to dive into the depths of the deep well of traditional jazz.