Dr. John N’AWLINZ: DIS DAT OR D’UDDA (Blue Note)

The lush opening track of piano and strings followed by a slow "When the Saints Go Marching In" and the spiritual "Let My Burden Down," both with full backing choruses, might give long-time fans of Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack pause: is the master of New Orleans funk getting all churchified on us? Well, yes and no. This lavish production is Dr. John’s tribute to his home town "and the people I love." That means fancy guests like Mavis Staples (on the church songs), Cyril Neville, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Nicholas Payton, B.B. King, Randy Newman, and Willie Nelson. But the bulk of the album is filled out with legendary session players who have little or no name recognition north of I-10: drummer Earl Palmer and trumpeter/arranger Dave Bartholomew (both key to early Fats Domino sides), vocalist Eddie Bo, percussionist Alfred "Uganda" Roberts, trumpeter Charlie Miller, arranger Wardell Quezergue, and a full complement of Mardi Gras Indians including Monk Boudreaux.

The big stars never overwhelm the songs. (This is not a "duets" CD.) Rather, Dr. John subordinates everything to one perfectly calibrated groove after another — rumba, tango, calypso, second line. Listen to the way Mac’s Wurlitzer electric piano and Walter "Wolfman" Washington’s guitar work together on the slow voodoo groove of "Marie Laveau." Or the banjo/tuba second-line intro to "Lay My Burden Down" and the sliding, punching R&B horns on just about any track. That opening instrumental, with strings, is a fitting tribute to Cuban pianist Ruben Gonzalez and the danzón ballroom tradition. And the extended "Stakalee," with Dr. John’s grainy drawl, will please all manner of blues scholars.

(Dr. John joins the B.B. King Blues Festival next Thursday, September 2, at FleetBoston Pavilion on Northern Avenue in Boston; call (617) 228-6000.)