Moppa Elliott has released a handful of exciting and innovative recordings recently on his Hot Cup Records imprint. The latest — released on July 13, and available only as a download and on 12” vinyl — is no exception. White Light/White Heat, a wild-and-wholly reinvention of the Velvet Underground’s classic second album, is the second release from Puttin’ on the Ritz, initially a duo consisting of vocalist BJ Rubin and drummer Kevin Shea (pictured above, left, with Rubin) but expanded here to a raucous, genre-busting sextet.

Rubin’s relationship to the Velvet Underground is traceable to his move from Oakland, California, to New York City in 1999. Once arrived in the Big Apple, Rubin roamed the streets listening over and over to a single cassette, on one side of which was the Velvet Underground and Nico, on the other of which was the Velvet’s White Light/White Heat. In a sense, Rubin came to know New York through the Velvet Underground, and his passion for White Light/White Heat led him to re-create the album in its entirety.

The endeavor turned out exceedingly well — or so you might agree if your taste runs toward spirited, inventive jazz that unabashedly borrows from punk and rock, and that probably sounds best loud. A press release accurately stated that the music, which was recorded in a mere two days, is “part homage, part personal exploration, part deconstruction and part reinterpretation. Perhaps this is what the original album would have sounded like had Lou Reed and company been members of the Sun Ra Arkestra.”

The sextet that Rubin and Shea assembled for this strange and welcome project includes saxophonist Jon Irabagon (winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition), innovative trumpeter Nate Wooley, trombonist Sam Kulik, and bassist Moppa Elliott. Matt Mottel joins the band on Turkish organ for the album’s final cut.

For more information and/or to purchase White Light/White Heat, go to www.hotcuprecords.com.