What we have here is a can’t-lose setup: Take the veteran Americana pioneer Taj Mahal, now 81, pair him with the renowned producer John Simon (The Band, Janis Joplin, Blood, Sweat & Tears) and let them go to town on a set of bona fide standards from The Great American Songbook and beyond. If you’re even slightly familiar with Mahal’s interpretive skills, then you already know he can make any kind of music his own. Now imagine that voice taking on tunes like Gershwin’s “Summer Time,” Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s “One for My Baby,” and every saloon singer’s favorite duet, Frank Loesser’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” for which Mahal pairs with Maria Muldaur (who knows this stuff better than just about anyone). Avoiding irony and camp, Mahal and Simon go deep in[1]side of these classics, utilizing a core rhythm section of guitarist Danny Caron, bassist Ruth Davies, drum[1]mer Leon Joyce Jr. and Simon himself on piano, augmented on most of the tracks by a solid horn section. Benny Goodman’s “Stompin’ at the Savoy” starts things off and gives the album its title, Mahal and company swinging sweetly, a battery of background vocalists trilling alongside him. Duke Ellington makes his presence known a few times; “Mood Indigo” is especially pretty, capturing the prewar vibe without resorting to tired retro schlock. And there’s some blues, of course, with Mahal apparently favoring the jump variety proffered by the great Louis Jordan—both “Caldonia” and “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby” blast off and never come back down. Other familiar numbers—”Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Killer Joe,” “Lady Be Good”—are also among the 14 tracks that fill up an album that instantly ranks as one of the most enjoyable this American treasure, 55 years removed from his solo debut, has ever recorded.