Spotlight: David Hidalgo/viji Krishnan/martin Simpson/puvalur Srinivasan

Kambara Music In Native Tongues
PRODUCER: Kavichandran Alexander
Water Lily Acoustics 63
Beyond being one of the world music albums of the year, "Kambara Music In Native Tongues" is a cross-cultural fusion of the most organic kind‹in the tradition of the wonderful Water Lily Acoustics disc "Meeting By The River" with Ry Cooder and V.M. Bhatt that won a Grammy in '93. Dedicated to the "architects of rock'n'roll," this disc features the quartet of Los Lobos' David Hidalgo on bajo sexto, accordion, and vocals; folk ace Martin Simpson on guitar and vocals; South Indian virtuoso Viji Krishnan on violin and vocals; and Puvalur Srinivasan on the mridangam drum. The group interprets vintage numbers by the likes of Merle Haggard and Richard Thompson with an eye toward combining Anglo, Indian, and Hispanic traditions into a new, one-world chamber music. The deeply felt reinvigoration of the country classic "He'll Have To Go" attests to that achievement, as does the loping, lovely Hidalgo/Simpson instrumental "The Slow Pageant." The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Water Lily Acoustics is distributed by DNA.