Idan Raichel Project

Raichel's live performances can be a vertiginous experience, featuring the complex interplay of multiple instrumentalists, but his recordings are much more controlled. He still collaborates almost obsessively -- Marta Gomez and Mayra Andrade are among the many guests-- but Raichel's cooling touch keeps sparks from igniting. This is, without question, successful pop music, improbably crafted from a polyglot mix of performers. If there's a weakness, it's in moments that devolve into a kind of blathering ethnic sameness that does nothing to highlight the cultures Raichel seeks to elevate.