If the Allman Brothers Band and Blood, Sweat & Tears had a baby, it might have grown up to be the Big Band of Brothers’ A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band.

Released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Allmans’ founding, the LP features remakes of 10 tracks by the band’s first iteration. Mostly instrumental, the record has vocals from an occasionally over-emotive Marc Broussard on “Statesboro Blues” and “Whipping Post” and Ruthie Foster, who just slays “It’s Not My Cross to Bear” and “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’” and proves a woman can easily step in front of Gregg Allman’s mic, provided that woman is Ruthie Foster.

The Big Band of Brothers is big – 15 pieces – but it doesn’t play traditional big-band jazz, which likely wouldn’t work in this setting. Instead, the group uses its debut album to hybridize jazz and rock ‘n’ roll to thrilling effect that thrives in this setting.

A Jazz Celebration is not as strange as it might seem at first glance; after all Duane Allman and Dickey Betts were deeply influenced by the genre and Betts wrote it into such instrumentals as “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Les Brers in A Minor,” both of which appear here and work exceedingly well with brass taking over for guitar strings and featured soloist Wycliffe Gordon (Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra) adding something new while paying appropriate respect.

Former Allman Brother Jack Pearson adds slide guitar to “Stand Back,” the album’s best track, which, like “Dreams,” is stripped of its lyrics and leaves the music to do the talking. 

The music decides to scream instead.