The name Adam Levy probably doesn’t ring an immediate bell in your brain, but you could be forgiven. He’s not even a household name among jazz guitar aficionados, but this part-time New Orleanian combines the best of Bill Frisell and Larry Carlton in his patient, chiming, yet exploratory melodics. If those names don’t mean jack to you either, three words: Norah Jones’ guitarist. This, his fourth solo album, aims for her crowd. If she made a less sterile roots-pop record that explored the sneaky dynamics of sexual control, it might sound like this.

This means, naturally, that Levy has to lay off the solos and work in a more conventional structure, which brings his merely adequate vocals up front. He fills that gap admirably with atmosphere, however, resulting in the nearly trip-hop “Breathe with Me” (not an easy feat for an acoustic trio) and the cracked, atonal stomp of “I Shot Her Down.” And even if his poppier moments result in Adult Alternative nuggets “I Can Promise You That” or the (unintentional?) Wilco homage “Never Been Alone Like This,” even the thorniest jazzbo snobs can recognize Levy’s potential to pen material for the next Great American Songbook.