Acoustic bassist Jamie Ousley (jamieousley.com) blends his Tennessee origins, jazz training, and years of area Latin influence on his debut CD Back Home (Tie Records). The Hallandale Beach resident enlists his trio mates Phillip Strange (piano) and Larry Marshall (drums), plus iconic multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan, saxophonist Ed Calle, percussionist Carlomagno Araya, multi-string player Jhonny Mendoza and different vocalists to create a classic.

The bassist’s compositions stand out, even among standards by Rodgers and Hammerstein (My Favorite Things, which features banner alto flute work by Sullivan) and Chopin (Nocturne in E flat major, Op. 9 No. 2, on which Araya provides tasteful percussive shading). Ousley’s A Tune, Sir? opens the disc energetically be showcasing the 79-year-old Sullivan’s ageless flugelhorn technique; Nashvillation puts the spotlight on Strange’s fleet fingers, and This Is It! again points out Sullivan’s mastery, this time on soprano saxophone.

Intermittent vocal ballads provide pacing and contrast. So Long, an ode to deceased uncle Lea Ousley, features soulful singing by LeNard Rutledge, and the poignant title track (reprised as an ending instrumental bonus track with Calle) the smoky voice of local duo partner SAMM (Sharon Ann-Marie Mapp).

See Jamie Ousley and SAMM from 6:30-9:30 p.m. every Monday at The Palm Beach Steakhouse, 191 Bradley Place, Palm Beach (561) 653-1512.

Fort Lauderdale jam band The Heavy Pets (theheavypets.com) tours so much that it barely has time to record. Three years and a few lineup changes since their 2007 double-CD debut Whale, the quintet of guitarist/vocalists Jeff Lloyd and Mike Garulli, keyboardist/vocalist Jim Wuest, bassist Justin Carney and drummer Jamie Newitt delivers a much more focused effort in their new self-titled sophomore disc on 102 Degrees Records.

The peppy Drenched; hip-hop influenced Girl You Make Me Stupid (with an over-the-top solo by guest harmonica player John Popper of Blues Traveler) and rocking How Would I open the disc with three very different feels, yet producer Scott Maxwell (Beach Boys, Elvis Costello, Neil Young) somehow creates cohesion. And the songwriting and playing is creative throughout, whether on keyboard-driven songs like Jackie Bones, ballads like the swampy Lazy Anna, or the reggae-tinged No More Time.

The Heavy Pets tour the Northeast until July 21, when they return to Florida for four straight nights in Key West (two at El Alamo; two at the Green Parrot).

’Round town

The monthly first-and-third Friday events in downtown Lake Worth have changed names from Evening on the Avenues to Party in the Plaza. Tonight, the free party doubles your pleasure with two area bands, Almost Joon (myspace.com/almostjoon) and The People Upstairs (thepeopleupstairs.com), from 6-10 p.m. at the Cultural Plaza Stage on North M Street (561) 582-4401 Classic rock and blues band Livin’ It Down (livinitdown.com) plays from 7-11 p.m. on Saturday at a rare area gem of a live music venue – the open-air Tiki Waterfront Sea Grill, 200 E. 13th St., Riviera Beach (561) 845-5532.