Xylouris White 2/26/18 Cafe 9

Xylouris White is the duo of Cretan lutist George Xylouris and Australian drummer Jim White. GX sings and chants in his native tongue, the lute is used with a trancey vibrato effect. JW looks like Tony Orlando left in the dryer too long. He plays a standard kit but routinely switches from sticks to mallets. His drumming style is odd, it appears that the sticks are in control with JW as a shepherd channeling their activity. The folksongs are exotic and gave the air of middle eastern markets and feasts. The trance component reminded me of Sister Ray-era Velvet Underground. XW are not young men, perhaps in their 50s, I give them credit for taking their world music to the world. I asked JW if the tour will take him places he's never seen, he replied that they will be in Latvia in a few weeks. All cultures have some music component, this unlikely duo have created something new from tradition.