CHRIS CORTEZ is a throwback vocalist and guitarist equally at home within jazz and blues styles. In the past, he’s covered Fats Waller’s jazz standard “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” James Taylor’s pop gem “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” and the classic ballad “Stormy Weather.” The singing guitarist was even a member of smooth jazz group Groovopolis, proving he has no stylistic limitations. On his latest CD, Mum is the Word (Blue Bamboo Music), Cortez performs an instrumental cover of “Sweet Georgia Brown,” plus several originals that echo artists from Wes Montgomery to Louis Jordan. The featured “My Way is Better” is an uptempo swing number performed at breakneck speed and featuring Cortez’s lyrics as comic relief. “We get along just fine like pages in a letter,” he sings, “if you would simply realize my way is better.”