New Orleans jazz has always lent itself well to gospel music, whether it’s Armstrong swinging the “Saints” or the landmark “Jazz at Vespers” concert by the George Lewis Band. The pairing of the Dukes of Dixieland and Moses Hogan’s New Orleans Gospel Choir continues this tradition, yet, regretfully, the moments when this marriage works are few over the 13 tracks that make up Gloryland. Perhaps it’s the six different arrangers here that makes for such a lack of continuity, and the quality of the sound on a number of the vocal tracks (as if the knobs were all at 10 and if the band and choir are in competition with one another) doesn’t help much. Although there’s much to like.

The Dukes and company are effective when they play straight with the arrangements, “This Little Light of Mine,” for example, or the all-out shout of “Jesus on the Mainline,” or the wonderfully textured arrangement of “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” which features fine work by the vocalist (unnamed) and Dukes trumpeter Kevin Clark. All in all, that performance is quite beautiful, but its beauty is almost immediately canceled out by an arrangement of “Raise the Spirit” whose only appropriate use on a Sunday would be at a Super Bowl halftime show. The other highlights here are the two Tom McDermott arrangements, especially “Sermonette,” (a favorite from the Lambert, Hendricks and Ross repertoire). But even that little gem is inexplicably followed by a version of “Just a Little While” which sounds like some sort of strange marriage between the Meters and McDermott and Clark’s brass band the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, and seems so out of place that one thinks there must have been some sort of mix-up in the editing room. But what do I know, presently Gloryland is a Grammy nominee.