I Storie o Café di lu Furestiero Novo / I Storie o Cafe di lu Furestiero Novo

It's a concept record of sorts, really — the idea of a cafe in Sicily where foreigners and natives come together to talk, and where music of several Mediterranean (and beyond) cultures exist. And it could easily fall on its face, but it doesn't. Instead the core seven-piece group provides continuity, while the many guests provide color and texture to the songs and instrumentals. By keeping the music relatively firmly based in the Mediterranean (although "Signori, Si Chuide" veers off into fairly lightweight jazz), bandleader and composer Bob Salmieri provides a root for it all, with some gorgeous vocals from DanyB. There's a dreaminess to "Ricorda o Me Nomi" and a sense of both traveling and rest exemplified by "Dioulo," a kora solo from Pape Kanoute. All in all, there's a languid beauty to this, and given its overall sense of being an oasis, it obviously succeeds in what it was trying to do. It will be interesting to see what Milagro Acustico will come up with next time and how well they might work outside a concept.