*** Trilok Gurtu

AFRICAN FANTASY

(Blue Thumb Records)

Drawing on his background in Indian classical music and jazz, percussionist Trilok Gurtu dives into the African bag and comes up with a set of evocative pieces, even a few pearls. Gurtu's tablas and other drums power through these tracks, and Ravi Charry's sitar is a near-constant element. The African flavors come mostly from three guest female vocalists, Oumou Sangaré of Mali, Angélique Kidjo of Benin, and Sabine Kabongo, a veteran of the Afro-European a cappella group Zap Mama. Kidjo's silky low range is featured on the title track, whose warm, flowing melody evokes the lyricism of Indian pop and suits her soft side beautifully. On "Africa con India," she gets blary in a darker mode over hard-hitting funk. Sangaré sounds uncharacteristically tough on the forebodingly bluesy "Big Brother," and she benefits from the work of her band, particularly traditional harp man Kassim Sidibe -- though the instrumental passages still sound more Celtic than anything else. Kabongo lays Zap Mama-like Pygmee polyphony over a slow deliberate groove on "Folded Hands" and stinging, long high notes over the more muscular "Old African." Occasionally, the music drifts toward generic jazz fusion. But for the most part, Gurtu's African excursion is heartfelt and powerful, and graced with strong, memorable melodies.

-- Banning Eyre
(Trilok Gurtu performs next Thursday, November 9, at the Somerville Theatre. Call 931-2000.)