Prog-fusion jazz is a tricky enterprise — like lighting a fire in a small cabin on a frigid winter day. Stoke it too much, and you're peeling clothes; on the other hand, too little combustion is a fruitless misuse of resources.

On More Mr. Nice Guy, Garaj Mahal finds just the right temperature, balancing technique and texture, showmanship and songcraft, simmering grooves and stone-cold spontaneity. On "The Long Form," the quartet settles into the kind of vintage fusion that would please Mahavishnu and Return to Forever fans (only subbing out John McLaughlin's blitzkrieg for Fareed Haque's Moog guitar — which later shifts into a proto-metal riff worthy of Ozzy). Or, the group can flip into the sinuous Indian-oriented modulations of "Witch Doctor," or the folksy-yet-orchestral "Frankly Frankie Ford," which has the informal grandeur of the old '60s instrumental hit, "Classical Gas."

There are also a pair of funky vocal numbers, "Today" and "What My Friends Say," courtesy of the group's newest member, drummer Sean "the Rick" Rickman. The last two tracks close the project nicely, beginning with the sleek, riff-oriented "Chester the Pester," which has all the locomotion of jazz fusion, but with a tad more grit. The finale, "Alison's Pony,"… read more »