Kenny Cornett and Killin’ Time, Flat Feet (CSP)

Like a lot of swamp poppers, Kenny Cornett and Killin’ Time hardly do any original material—only one in their entire 19-year-existence. Like a lot of swamp poppers, much of this material will be second nature to ardent listeners of South Louisiana music and Southern soul/R&B. But unlike a lot of swamp poppers who claim to be dance bands, these guys prove it by firing up their groove thing faster than you can say Warren Storm. The two-man horn section rolls, swings, swoons and pours on the ba-ba-ba-bops. The three Fats Domino and two Jivin’ Gene songs are just glorious, and it’s evident they take pride in covering this material. When they do slow it down, as on Percy Sledge’s “Take Time to Know Her,” they manage to sustain interest in the gripping story line. They even pull off Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Pride and Joy” but not with that telltale intro line that every bar band guitarist in town knows so well. Instead, they remake it as a flat out boogie that makes it practically unrecognizable until the chorus. Cornett may call his band Killin’ Time, but with this as sonic proof, they’re anything but.