El Espiritu Jibaro

Roswell Rudd’s collaboration with kora player Toumani Diabate and other Malian musicians — 2003’s Malicool — marked one of the crowning achievements of the intrepid trombonist’s career. For this alliance with Yomo Toro, he turns to another part of the world, Puerto Rico, and another exotic stringed instrument, the cuatro (four-stringed guitar), with often stunning success. As with his previous forays into music from other parts of the world, Rudd knows how to blend seamlessly into the indigenous surroundings without having to submerge his own style. On the cumbia “Pouchie & the Bird,” for example, one of several cuts to feature percussion great Bobby Sanabria and his Latin jazz ensemble, Rudd and his trombone take the whole group to faraway places without ever really leaving the dance floor. For his part, Toro still amazes on cuatro, a whirlwind blend of emotion, technique, and taste. The ebullient “Tres Cuatro” brilliantly showcases his playing, which, like Rudd, can venture far beyond the expected. “Inspiración” is a beautiful, moving solo performance by Toro. (Oddly enough, “Este Es Yomo Toro!” features Toro’s cuatro in support of his, um, answering-machine message.) The 11-minute bolero “El Amor” is a highlight, a slowly building ballad that features some gorgeous interplay between Rudd’s mournful trombone and Toro’s delicate cuatro.