Founded by the violin-playing Slabiak brothers, Erik and Oliver, Les Yeux Noirs has explored the common ground between Jewish and Gypsy music for more than a decade. Here on the septet's fifth album, tChorba, which is a French perjoritive for "soup," the band continues to refine its Jewish/Gypsy stock while adding in plenty of herbs and spices to make it the band's richest-sounding effort yet. The title cut opens with a funk groove riff before ompapa-ing to rock and back. The band gets its flamenco on for "O'Djila," sounding like they could give the Gipsy Kings a run for their money. Most intriguing is the fusion on "Desirs Derisoires," which has a comfortable reggae lilt to its rhythm as it bounces between Latin pop and exotic Eastern filigree. The purpose of posing the band members under showers in the CD booklet is perplexing, but at least the band has its musical ducks in a row: amidst the stylistic shifts, the music doesn't leave the listener adrift. —Tad Hendrickson

LESTER YOUNG The Complete Lester Young (1995 US 16-track CD of two sessions recorded in New York on December 28th 1943 and March 22nd 1944 with Lesters Quartet and Kansas City Seven the latter including Buck Clayton Count Basie and Freddie Green. Features alternative takes to compare and contrast two of which - Sometimes Im Happy and After Theatre Jump - are previously unreleased 513819F)

Lindsay Mac creates full and rich alternative folk/jazz with the cello and funky, organic instrumentation. Her debut album, Small Revolution, features two-time Grammy-winning cellist, Eugene Friesen, Rounder Records' fiddler, Matt Glaser (The Wayfaring Strangers), and pianist Tim Ray (Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett, Jane Siberry). The album also features turntable work by Emmy-winner, Stephen Webber (professor, Berklee College of Music), who was recently featured on the Today Show teaching Al Rocher how to scratch.