Review

If ever a man had a right to put those two letters in front of his name, it's Cheb I Sabbah. Chebbi, as he's known, was one of the original DJs in the discotheques of Paris in the '60s. Born in Algeria (Cheb I Sabbah is his nom de disque), he has long been a fan of Indian classical music, and after moving to the Bay Area he began in the '80s to present a series of world music concerts. On Shri Durga he invites some top-shelf Indian singers and musicians to contribute music specifically for an album of sampled, sequenced and processed sound. Treating his source material with respect — but also with an unfailing sense of the groove — Chebbi creates an organic blend of South Asian classical music and modern electronic dance. Similarly, check out his more recent La Kahena, which focuses on singers from North Africa, the Near East and Israel.