Jamil Sharif has musical roots as deep as jazz itself. His father, Umar Sharif (a.k.a. Emery Thompson), was a well-known trumpeter and his father’s first cousins were Percy and Willie Humphrey, former mainstays of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Also, Sharif’s great-grandfather was Professor J.B. (Jim) Humphrey, a music teacher who taught some of New Orleans’ pioneer jazz musicians in the early years of the 20th century. Coming from such a distinguished musical lineage, Jamil Sharif carries the jazz torch into a new century in a way that would make his forbearers proud. This is straight-up Dixieland with Sharif leading the parade on trumpet, cornet and vocals on four of the tracks. Most of the 11 cuts on this CD are jazz and blues classics—“Beale Street Blues,” “St. James Infirmary,” “Sweet Georgia Brown” and (what else?) “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Sharif’s playing sounds like an updated Armstrong on “Saints” and two other Satchmo classics, “Potato Head Blues” and “Weather Bird Rag” and he does a fine muted job with the Jabbo Smith standard, “Rhythm in Spain.” However, the best track on the album is one of the only two original compositions. “Vee Vee” is a lilting, five-minute ode to Sharif’s wife Jovita (whose vocals are heard on “Sweet Georgia Brown”) in a slow, mellow, Harry James-like style. Throughout the album there are some wonderful sax, keyboard and bass licks by a variety of local musicians and Sharif’s vocals rate about a B+, pulled down only by an atonal rendering of “Saints.” Overall, this is a good New Orleans sampler with a little something for everyone.