The long-awaited debut album from The Walker Project, You Can Be Yourself, is set for release on Sunday at Downtown's alchemize. Eric Diedrichs, DJ Empirical and Embrya also perform at the release party.

The Walker Project has always been one of the best hard-to-categorize bands in town. Formed in 2001 as a duo, singer/guitarist Carole Walker and bassist Chris Walker (brother/sister, if you didn't already know) didn't try to fit into any particular scene, instead combining their broad influences for a varied sound that touches on Pop, Folk, Funk, Blues, Jazz, Soul and Rock, but ends up in a place that is all its own. Be Yourself won't appease the pigeonholers, as the group continues to defy precise classification. Now rounded out by drummer Tim Hensley, the Walkers pulled in guitarist John Gentry and keyboardist Phil Ritchey to add some rich textures to Be Yourself. Chris Walker has earned a reputation for being one of the best bass players in town, and on Be Yourself he shows his authoritative command of the instrument, be it tasteful anchoring or his distinct ability to play "busy" without being distracting. Carole Walker has been equally lauded for her soulful, lilting vocal ability, which get its calling card with Be Yourself (she can somehow occasionally sound like Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Ani DiFranco and Erykah Badu in the span of one line).

The songwriting on the debut is structurally strong, and Carole's lyrics, while at times overly ideological, have an introspective thoughtfulness that is charmingly charismatic. On Be Yourself, the group moves fluidly from smoky-bar Soul ("Move On"), to ethereal Funk ("Bulletproof") to sensual Folk/Pop ("Impatiently") to rousing Gospel ("Life Is Beautiful") like the versatile music veterans they are. The unadulterated intimacy of You Can Be Yourself is refreshing and rare, a seemingly effortless display of innate, natural musical instinct. (thewalkerproject.net)

This Week's Big Gigs
· The legendary Blue Wisp Big Band will celebrate its silver anniversary with a special gig Saturday at -- you guessed it -- the Blue Wisp Jazz Club in Downtown. It's been 25 years since the group started playing every Wednesday night at the original Blue Wisp location in O'Bryonville. Three buildings later, the BWBB still draws crowds every week with their accomplished brand of Swing. The group, which has played with the likes of Rosemary Clooney and Cab Calloway, has been a breeding ground for local Jazz, featuring the elite players in town, from CCM professors to seasoned local club vets ("charter members" include Michael Sharfe, Jeff Folkens, Al Nori, Kevin Moore, Steve Schmidt and John Von Ohlen). (bluewispjazzclub.com)

· On Sunday, Fat Fish Blue in Newport hosts a benefit for the Cincy Blues Society's Blues in Schools program, which puts musicians in local schools to perform and teach about the music's history. The star-studded lineup includes Big Joe Duskin, Michael Locke and the Repeat Offenders, a Blues jam with Ricky Nye, John Redell, Cheryl Renee, Todd Hepburn and Jerry Hedge (among others) and an acoustic "Cincy Blues Guitar Pull" with local six-string slingers Chris Carero, Sonny Moorman, Steve Priestle and Marcos Sastre. The event starts at 4 p.m. Advanced tickets and more info are available at cincyblues.org.

· A benefit for Cincinnati Folk Life goes down Sunday at the 20th Century Theater in Oakley. The cream-of-the-crop from the local Roots and Folk scenes lend their talents for the event, which starts at 3 p.m. Artists scheduled to appear include The Cincinnati Dancing Pigs, Jake Speed and The Freddies, Roger Drawdy & The Firestarters, Silver Arm, Dave Gilligan and The Flock, Acappellics Anonymous and more. Proceeds go to Cincinnati Folk Life and its annual Celtic World Festival. (cincinnatifolklife.com)

· It's more multi-band madness on Friday at Newport's York Street Café as the Winter Slush Ball promises to chase away the winter blahs. The show features solid local acts The Defrost Star, Paperback and Super77, as well as Columbus' Wigglepussy, Indiana (a MidPoint Music Festival regular) and St. Louis' Indie/Pop foursome Bagheera, whose debut for the respected Asian Man Records label, twelves, has drawn critical raves. Music starts at 9 p.m.

· The Seth Adler Project, Subvinyl and The Waywards join together on Saturday at the Southgate House Parlour to raise money for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. The event marks the "last show" for the Seth Adler Project; with new drummer Chris Mueller, formerly of Stonewater, the group is changing its name to Mad River Project, according to Adler. (CinciHomeless.org).