Mr. B

continued

piano." Think of it as their honeymoon.

The object of his affection is a 1924 Steinway model L. And we get to eavesdrop on this love affair. This is no awkward puppy love, but the meeting of a mature master musician with a lovely instrument, the two of them bringing out undiscovered treasures in each other.

Over the last three decades, Mr. B has studied, honed, and mastered his chosen field of blues and boogie piano. But he has also ranged widely outside those genres. The first tune here is "Festina Tarde," Italian for "Make haste slowly" — a perfect way to begin a love affair. It starts as a tango in a minor key, with occasional blues colorings; it's only near the end, when Braun smooths out the rhythm and starts to swing, that we know we're listening to a bluesman.

"High-Heeled Sneakers" at first tiptoes through a delicate jazzy blues, mostly on the sparkling east end of the keyboard; gradually brings in the gravelly west end, like an approaching storm; and finally segues into a trademark Mr. B boogie stomp, ending with a chord that sounds like thunder.