Long associated with B.B. King, Calvin Owens has made a name for himself with several wonderful releases of brassy urban blues since the mid ’90s.

Owens’ career in music dates back to the mid ’40s, when he started his own seven-piece band in Houston. He also played with Puma Davis in the early ’50s. Davis’ band later backed Gatemouth Brown for his quintessential Peacock recordings, and Davis himself penned “Okie Dokie Stomp” and later appeared on Bobby Bland’s Two Steps From The Blues album.

Owens played off and on with B.B. throughout the ’50s and also served as Peacock’s A&R man. He returned to play with King and also served as music director from 1978 until 1984, even directed the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra horn section during that time. Tired of the road, Owens moved overseas to Belgium, got married, regained his health, and started playing again.

In the mid ’90s, he released True Blue, with a massive 24-piece band and guest stars like Johnny Clyde Copeland, B.B. King and “Fathead” Newman. Subsequent releases, all for his Sawdust Alley label, have featured that same big band sound with the occasional modern touch thrown in.

His latest release, The House Is Burnin’, is another great effort.

It opens with an instrumental, “Opus In Sawdust Alley,” then quickly segues to a slow-tempo burner with passionate vocals by Trudy Lynn (“Don’t Walk Away”). Ms. Trudy returns and threatens to kick somebody’s behind in “Stop Lying In My Face” (I honestly don’t think there’s anybody out there right now who brings everything she’s got to every song like Trudy Lynn does).

Owens takes the mike for “Coffee Man” and adds a hot trumpet solo. Owens sings on four of the 12 tracks here, and his vocals have a gruff, but charming quality. He doesn’t overstep his boundaries. He has no boundaries on the trumpet, however, going from swing to jazz with no problem.

Other contributors to the fun include Houston local legend Gloria Edwards who sings the title track (with assistance from Grady Gaines on tenor sax), a zydeco romp. Another Houston legend, singer/guitarist Leonard “Low Down” Brown, lends his pipes and string-bending talents to the next two tracks, B.B.’s “Please Love Me” and Guitar Crusher’s “Message To Man.”

Closing out the festivities is another instrumental, “Woman Hollering Creek,” the jazziest number on the disc, and two Christmas songs, the Charles Brown chestnut, “Merry Christmas Baby,” and Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song,” both featuring Owens on vocals and trumpet. Guitarists Charles Davis and Corey Stoot also deserve a moment in the spotlight, along with the monstrous horn section. The house may be burnin’, but this disc is definitely smokin’.