A multiethnic musical tour

An Armenian sage purportedly once said: "Introductions? Who needs `em? Bring on the freaking album reviews!" (or words to similar effect).

"Sergio and Odair Assad Play Piazzolla; Sergio and Odair Assad; Nonesuch (www.nonesuch.com).

Hailed and reviled as the father of Argentina`s controversial nuevo tango movement, Astor Piazzolla created an aural universe all his own. With exceptional skill and daring, he fused elements of tango, jazz and contemporary classical music into an intricate, surprise-filled whole, full of haunting melodies, skittering harmonies and contrapuntal flourishes.

Best-known in this country for their collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma and Dawn Upshaw, the Brazilian guitar team of brothers Sergio and Odair Assad have a greater affinity for Piazzolla than most, having worked with him in the 1980s (when he composed his "Tango Suite" specifically for them).

This nine-song album is a quiet gem of interplay between the two guitar virtuosos, who manage to place their own stamp on music that is still unmistakably Piazzolla-esque. They are joined on some tracks by violinists Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Fernando Suarez, and - on "Suite Trolleana" - by Marcelo Nisinman on bandoneon, the button-accordion-like instrument favored by Piazzolla. The result is a stirring tribute, gracefully performed, yet bristling with excitement and the heady risk-taking that distinguished this Argentine music giant.

"Sebai Bai"; Mahotella Queens; Label Bleu (www.afromix.org).

From 1964 until 1999, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens reigned as one of South Africa`s most electrifying vocal groups. They pioneered the infectious mbaqanga (or "township jive") style that inspired countless other musicians in their homeland and, in the mid-1980s, Paul Simon and his "Graceland" album.

"Sebai Bai" is the first release by the three-woman Mahotella Queens since the 1999 death of the group`s founder and leader Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde (also known as "the Lion of Soweto"), whose deep, growling vocal style was the group`s most identifiable sound. Carrying on without him is a risk, certainly, but Hilda Tloubatla, Mildred Mangxola and Nobesuthu Mbadu rise to the occasion on this enchanting 13-song album.

With its intoxicating blend of traditional Zulu dance rhythms, shimmering electric guitars and lilting vocal harmonies, the album captures the Mahotella Queens in fine form. The trio shines brightest on three a cappella numbers, "Kukhona Intombi," "Town Hall" and the doo-wop-like "Love Emotion," and on the album-closing "Lwaze Lwafika," a moving ode to Mahlathini and other former musical partners whose memories live on in the Queens` music.

"Don`t Shave the Feeling"; Ez Pour Spout; Love Slave Records (www.lvslv.com)

Featuring members of Sex Mob, the Jazz Passengers, the Either/Orchestra, John Zorn`s band and other genre-leaping New York ensembles, Ez Pour Spout uses its new album to pay delightfully warped homage to songs by such artists as varied as Nirvana, Burt Bacharach, Cream, the Four Seasons, Frank Zappa and AC/DC.

Highlights include a break-beat-driven version of Zappa`s "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama," which suggests Ornette Coleman jamming with the Residents; a truly ominous remake of Nirvana`s "Heart Shaped Box"; an otherworldly version of the theme from the TV series "The A-Team" that conjures up a fleeting image of Mr. T waking up on a bed of hot coals; and a hip-hop-meets-dub-reggae take on AC/DC`s "Back in Black," highlighted by Curtis Hasselbring`s slurred trombone solo.

Neither an exercise in postmodern irony nor an inside joke, "Don`t Shave the Feeling" succeeds because Ez Pour Spout`s gifted members clearly respect these songs, even as they deconstruct them at will.

"Saturday Night in Bombay"; Remember Shakti; Verve (www.vervemusicgroup.com).

The title of Remember Shakti`s audacious new live album makes playful reference to the 1981 release "Friday Night in San Francisco," which featured Shakti leader John McLaughlin and fellow guitarists Paco de Lucia and Al DiMeola. Recorded at two concerts last December, "Bombay" features the latest version of Shakti, the improv-happy, Indian classical music group McLaughlin led from 1975 to 1978.

Together again in revamped form since 1997, the current lineup features Shakti co-founder Zakir Hussain on tabla, along with fellow percussionist V. Selvaganesh and mandolin marvel U. Shrinivas. The quartet is augmented by seven additional musicians on the dazzling opening cut, "Luki," which starts off in high-gear and builds explosively from there.

The 26-minute-plus "Shringer" allows McLaughlin and his partners to deftly create and sustain dynamic intensity at whisper-soft volumes. The other two selections are just as rewarding and, for anyone who enjoys earthy music that aims for the heavens, "Saturday Night in Bombay" is a trip that shouldn`t be missed.

(c)Copley News Service

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Author: George Varga