The Kalimba, to call it by its proper name, in the hands of Kahil El'Zabar becomes something incomparable, to my ears, to anything I've ever heard or imagined. No longer that funny plink-plink sound with a buzz that I'd grown accustomed to. It becomes instead a beautiful and melodic trill that is enthralling in its own right, with the strength to act as the underpinning percussion for the solo work of trumpet and saxophone.

Yes, there are other musicians in the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, which judging by my review so far you probably couldn't tell. My apologies to those three fine musicians for that - it is not meant as any slight to them or their abilities or to imply they somehow play a lesser role in the band, because they don't.

Ernest "Khabeer" Dawkins on alto and tenor saxophone and percussion, and Fareed Haque on electric and acoustic guitar have both played with the band for a while. Corey Wilkes on trumpet, flugelhorn and percussion is a new addition to the band, and although only in his twenties he already tours with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and fronts his own bands.

As in a lot of jazz ensembles, especially those with no bass player and a percussionist who plays leads, the guitar player becomes the centre point around which everything else orbits. Fareed Haque is that eye in the hurricane of the Heritage Ensemble. Calmly seated on his chair he effortlessly strokes out the notes each song's melody as a perfect rhythmic lead. He holds on to the theme of each composition, allowing his band mates the freedom to come and go, secure in the knowledge it will be there when they return from their improvisational excursions.

And what excursions they are. The pity is that I don't have the vocabulary to describe how wonderful they are. For example, what can you say about Mr. Dawkins' incredible saxophone work that runs from gently blown notes that waft like butterflies through the air of the studio, to high sharp notes that, with their urgency, sting the ears like a wasp bite.