**1/2 Bruce Katz Band

MISSISSIPPI MOAN

(AudioQuest)

Keyboard wiz Bruce Katz's third CD ricochets between the soulful and the merely facile. Mostly the soul wins out. And not only when vocalist Mighty Sam McClain shows up to sermonize the blues, as he does on "Hangin' on the Cross" and the lighter "I'm Gonna Love You." Boston-based Katz has a knack for writing instrumentals with deep historical and emotional roots. He also has an easy command of the piano and the B-3 organ. So he captures the classic barrelhouse joy of piano legend Pete Johnson's pioneering pounding on "Norton's Boogie" and makes the black-and-whites sing sweet gospel on "In the Garden (Traditional) for Lee." Backing McClain, Katz's B-3 becomes a choir of angels; at the start of "Elmore's Glue," he plays it more like that old devil Jimmy Smith. But "Night of Joy" comes off as jazz-lite with a twist of blues. And too many compositions like the title track strive for a fusion of blues and jazz that doesn't have the heart or flair of either.

-- Ted Drozdowski

(Bruce Katz performs tonight, October 30, at the House of Blues. Call 491-BLUE.)