It’s not often that you’ll find a jazz, funk or brass-band album where the longest of 11 tracks is under five minutes. That’s the case on the Nation Beat’s sixth and latest CD, and it makes a difference. Based in New Jersey, the band fuses the above styles with forro (from Brazil’s northeast), and the short tracks here allow them to mix it up, getting into a different groove on every tune.

Since they’re Northeast-based, you may wonder how well they absorb New Orleans sounds, and the answer is, pretty darn well. The two covers here are two of the most covered ones around, “Hey Pocky Way” and “Big Chief,” but neither is played by the book: The first transposes the original Meters arrangement for horns, with a sousaphone taking the Porter Jr. bassline, and they have some fun with the original keyboard intro before sliding into the song. “Big Chief” gets a jazzier take but leader Scott Kettner’s drumming (here just bass drum and snare) keeps it light and nimble, a long way from the raucous parade versions you’d hear on the Fair Grounds.

The Brazilian element is stronger elsewhere; “Forra de Dois Amigis” sounds like something the latter-day Preservation Hall Jazz band might come up with. The title track lands midway between carnival and Mardi Gras Indian music, with a busy tambourine driving a more delicate tune. And they get into romantic bossa nova—mid ’60s bachelor pad style—on “Algunas Cantan,” with a strong vocal and of all things, a kalimba as the lead instrument. All five members get their solo space, but—as any band led by a drummer who’s been to Brazil and New Orleans well understands—it don’t mean a thing if you can’t move to it.