Another year, another anthology of stellar big-band jazz from the University of North Texas' flagship ensemble, the One O'Clock Lab Band, which carries on a tradition of annual recordings that was begun more than four decades ago. It's a custom that has not only served the university well but has produced a long and unbroken series of splendid large-ensemble albums, and Lab 2014 is clearly no exception to that rule.

To declare that Lab 2014 is superior is not to overplay one's hand; on the contrary, every track serves only to reinforce such an appraisal. To begin with, any band that leads with a barroom piano and down-home blues in place of the usual curtain-raising flag-waver brandishes its audacity and self-assurance from the outset. The flag-waver arrives next, Keith Karns' animated salute to "Brookmeyer," which paints a lovely and loving portrait of the late great valve trombonist / composer. Then it's off to the Caribbean for pianist Gabriel Evens' rhythmically charming "Master Aruba," followed by Drew Zaremba's gorgeous arrangement of the Jerome Kern / Johnny Mercer standard "I'm Old Fashioned," further enriched by Zaremba's soulful alto solo.

Fusion takes its not-universally-pleasing turn on Branson Garner's fractious "Wholesome Recreational Activity," which precedes the (mostly) lyrical "A Father's Love" (composed by Aaron Hedstrom, earnest tenor solos by Niels Rosendahl and Mark Hartsuch), Zaremba's sparkling arrangement of