Seven recordings in and Tuba Skinny have established themselves as more than revivalists. Still mining the early jazz, blues and ragtime that have made them local favorites, this New Orleans combo is not only reaching further into the archives but also polishing originals that fit nearly seamlessly into the catalogue. In fact, Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” the lead cut on this 16-track release, is both its best known and least impressive number. More fun is the band’s take on Merline Johnson’s 1938 “Running Down My Man,” in which Shaye Cohn puts down her cornet to take up a chiming, honky tonk–style piano to showcase Erika Lewis’s throaty—and era-appropriate—vocals. (Lewis’s voice is somewhat brighter than the original “Yas Yas” girl’s, but the two versions compare nicely.)

Lewis is the obvious focal point of Tuba Skinny, a charismatic frontwoman with an impressive instrument, and her departure from New Orleans is worrisome. (The band’s website promises that she remains active in the band and will return for tours and festival gigs.) Her original contribution to the disc, “Broken Hearted Blues” (not the same tune as the cut of that name on the 2011 release Garbage Man) leans more toward Kansas City with a proto-swing riffing from the unison horns and offers a promising path for the group’s expansion. But the strength of these young trad jazz players remains their ensemble work. In tune after tune, the core instrumental sextet nails the classic New Orleans contrapuntal collective improvisation, instantly evoking another era while at the same time delightfully of the moment. That interplay comes to the fore in a fantastic take on Fletcher Henderson’s 1927 “Variety Stomp,” arranged by Cohn, and on the title track, a Cohn original, where Craig Flory’s ornate clarinet filigrees take the lead. Throughout, the band manages a nice mix of up-tempo jazz and lower-key blues, like that Lewis number or the simply proffered take on Blind Boy Fuller’s “Corrine,” with Lewis accompanied primarily by Max Bien Kahn’s guitar and Todd Burdick’s tuba. Sure, you could dig out the re-issues, but this four-track recording offers a fresh, clear take on a timeless sound.