Beat of Love
The Bombay-born tabla master and percussionistTrilok Gurtuhas  become a fixture on the pop- and world-music scenes, performing with  Pat Metheny, Gilberto Gil, and Bill Laswell. On this CD--produced by  the famed Beninese Afropop superstar and Level 42 cofounder Wally  Badarou--Gurtu forms a rhythmic rice-and-curry meal flavored with funk,  raga, bhangra, and juju sonic seasonings. Backed by vocalist Sabine  Kabongo (formerly of Zap Mama) along with bass, guitar, and sitar,  Gurtu successfully merges the Aryan/Dravidian ancestral drum lines of  his homeland with the processional pulsations of West Africa. The  leader is joined on this quest by the continent's brightest stars:  Benin's Angelique Kidjo lends her Fon-language contralto on the  hypnotic "A Friend." Mali's Salif Keita Afro/Arabic Mande vocals  christen the tantric tone poem "Have We Lost Our Dream?" Wasis Diop of  Senegal beautifully complements Gurtu's textured tabla playing on  "Passing By," while South Africa's Jabu Khanyile puts his township  tones to the synthesized kalimba sounds on "Ingoma." Gurtu also  includes his trans-Indian compatriots Mryudula and Bharat Desai on  "Dance with My Lover." Chris Dilford of the rock group Squeeze wrote  the lyrics to the anthemic "Ola Bombay." In Trilok Gurtu's hands, world  beats are transformed by his silky subcontinental swing.--Eugene  Holley Jr.