Yalla Yalla!

Rumba flamenco rhythms may be at the base of this endearing instru¬mental recording by Toronto-based Sultans of String, but you’ll also hear Manouche jazz and Middle Eastern and Cuban influences – the guest musicians, The Cuban Trumpet Ensemble and Cuban-Canadian percussionist, Chendy Leon, having much to do with this. The core of the group is the fine fiddler Chris McKhool, who soars above the tight weave created by guitarists Kevin Laliberté and Eddie Paton, ably supported by strong bass work from Drew Birston. As the group's name suggests, there's a sense of playful whimsy at work, most obviously on tracks like ‘Pinball Wizardˆ (yes, a rumba-ised take on The Who) and on a version of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies’ called ‘Gymnorumba.’ There's also an ear-catching original called ‘Highlander 10 Speed’ which goes through all the gears, from high drama to high jinx. But tender moments balance the exuberant tracks, for instance the wistful ‘Tikal’ or the dreamy ‘Sable Island’ (inspired by a visit to the island famed for its wild horses). McKhool is Ottawa-born and raised, a third-generation Lebanese-Egyptian Canadian who absorbed Arabic folk music right alongside the Western classical music his mother, a piano teacher, played at home – plus with a myriad of other styles in the prevailing culture. In Sultans of String it adds up to a sound that's difficult to pin down, but very easy to listen to. Yalla Yalla!, previously released in Canada, took the 2009 Canadian Folk Music Award for Instrumental Group of the Year. That's no surprise: it's not a revolutionary sound, but it is undeniably charming.