More than a decade after introducing his signature “trance blues” sound, multi-instrumentalist Otis Taylor has grown into one of the great blues bandleaders—in part by getting out of the way. On Clovis People, Vol. 3, Taylor’s unique vision drives the 12 songs, many of them remakes of his own tunes. But once Taylor sets the mood—with an angular electric banjo strum or staccato acoustic guitar riff—he lets a revolving cast of stellar musicians latch on to the groove and run with it, much like a jazz maestro. “Rain So Hard,” a song about love and betrayal, gets its tension from an acoustic lick that strays a bit from the Delta, while drummer Larry Thompson and cornetist Ron Miles lay down a smoldering jazz vibe that builds to a slow boil. On “Harry, Turn the Music Up,” Taylor’s daughter, Cassie, lets loose on the theremin, as Thompson, with Chuck Campbell on pedal steel and Fara Tolno on djembe, unleash an almost ecstatic rhythm meant to invoke Taylor’s wonder and excitement during childhood visits to the Denver Folklore Center, where his musical fire was kindled. A single pulsating chord, juxtaposed with Jon Paul Johnson’s blistering lead guitar, propels “Little Willie,” about a fictional school shooting. This is not your granddaddy’s blues—despite early comparisons of Taylor to John Lee Hooker—so purists beware. But there’s ample reward for wiping away expectations and letting Taylor’s moody blues work its way into your bones. (Telarc)