Music Review: The Time Jumpers find joy in their work

The Time Jumpers, “Kid Sister” (Rounder)

The Time Jumpers have long represented the best thing you could do in Nashville on a Monday night, but they stopped being a secret many years ago.

Still, being discovered hasn’t ended the fun. Their third album, “Kid Sister,” a snapshot of musicians playing songs that make them happy, proves that.

The Time Jumpers are an ensemble of Nashville players, well-known stars like Vince Gill and less well-known but equally world-class musicians who made their names in Music Row studios. Their Monday night sessions were born long ago in the dressing rooms of the Ryman Auditorium, with musicians complaining that they were tired of playing what they were told to play.

Thus began a weekly gig, an evolving blend of western swing, jazz and big band sounds best summed up as “happy music.” Even the ballads convey the fun this band has playing together.

The new album gets its title from the nickname of Dawn Sears, a singer with the group who died of cancer in 2014, and her recorded voice appears on the first two cuts, “My San Antonio Rose” and “I Miss You.” The Time Jumpers’ range across their repertoire, from the title cut, a Gill tribute to Sears’ memory, to upbeat numbers like “Bloodshot Eyes.”

The studio work may not capture the joy of a Time Jumpers show, the appreciative glances exchanged across the stage, but it shows off a great band having a blast.

And when that happens, it turns out, the music makes everyone smile.