The music of the world is fused into the playing of virtuoso guitarist Thierry Robin. In addition to performing as a soloist, Robin has collaborated with Rajistani percussionist Hameed Khan, Breton guitarist Eric Merchand, Indian singer/dancer Gulabi Sepera, Yiddish accordionist Eddie Schaff, and Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz. Forming an 11-piece band, Nao, with Moroccan, Kurdish, and Indian musicians in 1985, he composed music for French/North African fusion band Jonny Michto, two years later. He formed a trio with Merchand and Khan that combined Breton and northern Indian influences in 1989 and a Turkish/Kurdish/Breton fusion group that he shared with Merchand and Temiz in 1993. Robin, who launched his career in the mid-'70s by playing traditional music in western France, has remained eclectic on his own albums. He recorded the Gypsy-influenced album Gitans in 1993, with a ten-piece group that combined Indian, Arabic, Flamenco, and French folk influences. While he recorded Le Regard Nu (the Naked Look) as an improvising soloist responding to nude models in the studio, Payo Michto was recorded live during a tour of France. Kali Gadji, released in 1998, features a heavy brass sound and combines influences of Arabic, Flamenco, and the Wassoulou music of Mali. ~ Craig Harris