Various Artists
The Music of Nubenegra
Intuition Nubenegra, via Alula-US (www.alula.com)

Piranha Allstars (Various Artists)
Travel with Your Ears
Piranha (www.piranha.de)

World music compilations are so ubiquitous now that they rarely warrant notice. But North American listeners will want to peruse these consummate European labels if not already familiar with them. Originally concentrating on Cuban and Spanish music, but expanding into Africa and Brazil, Nubenegra presents Brazilian guitarist Zezo Ribeiro, Bawo Reinhardt and I Gitano (descendants of the famous gypsy guitarist), and Cubans Argelia Fragoso, Gema y Pavel, the late sonero Marcelino Guerra, Omara Portuondo, Chucho Vald�s, Septeto Santiaguero and Vieja Trova Santiaguera. Spanish folk musicians include Luis Delgado, Mestisay, Maria Salgado and the incomparable Galician singer Uxia. The latter women also join Sudanese singer Rasha in the trio, La Sal de la Vida. Aziza Brahim offers a rare taste of Spanish Saharan music, Bidinte performs Guinea-Bissau rumba-flamenca, and Hijas del Sol purvey Bantu music from Equatorial Guinea.

Piranha presents riveting tracks of Arab-Andalusian, Sephardic and klezmer music (who else but the Klezmatics?); raks sharki ("belly dance"); the undulating percussion of Egypt, Nubia, Mozambique, Cuba and Afro-Caribbean New York; Brazilian forr� and samba; and speed-of-light Romanian gypsy brass band music. On some engaging sorties off the world-music commercial superhighway, Nubenegra and Piranha travel with their ears, not their accountants. - Michael Stone