OMAC

Whether it’s bluegrass or jazz, isn’t it always about the jam? Veteran Nashville, Tenn. fiddle wizard Mark O’Connor taps musical associates from both genres for his latest, a buoyant blend of jazzgrass and Django-style gypsy jazz lifted by astonishing feats of bowing, plucking, picking and fretting. O’Connor sounds like his friend and mentor, the late Stephane Grappelli, with “Gypsy Fantastic,” on which his fast and furious solo is followed by Hot Swing Trio partner Frank Vignola’s melodic turn, and on Grappelli’s own sweet and chunky “Minor Swing.” The group also tackles other genres, including a tasty solo by ex-Nickel Creek mandolin player Chris Thile and a workout by bassist Jon Burr on “In the Cluster Blues,” and grooving with simmering bossa rhythms on the laidback, color-shifting “Soft Gyrations.”