BK Trio: “Hit It” – Guitarist Brian Kooken delivers a lively album of original tunes, beginning with the delicious, fast-paced title track. There is a lot of joy on this album, a lot of energy, particularly in the guitar lead on “Always Looking Up.” And listening to a tune like “Hatza’s Groove,” you get the sense that these musicians could carry on the whole day and night too, that the music is moving them just as much as it moves us. These musicians also give us a cool blues tune, “It’s Monday And I’ve Got The Blues.” Of course, these days Mondays are meaningless for a lot of us, as are Fridays, Saturdays and the rest. That track features some delicious work on organ. But my favorite track might be “Soul For Shahid,” the disc’s closing number, partly because of its wonderful groove. The trio is made up of Brian Kooken on guitar, Greg Hatza on organ, and Robert Shahid on drums, and all three musicians turn in excellent performances. (Michael Doherty)