Further indication of the increasing willingness of jazz to embrace other musical cultures should be evident from the visit of French-Vietnamese guitarist, Nguyen Le (right), whose trio plays in Belfast tomorrow and at Whelans in Dublin on Monday.
The group, completed by the virtuoso bassist, Renaud Garcia Fons, and Spain's Tino Di Giraldo on drums, draws on a variety of North African, Oriental, French and Spanish musical sources, including flamenco and - surprisingly - French musette for its substance.
However well they succeed in absorbing these into an effective blend, these gifted musicians should offer concerts full of interest and surprise, as well as an alternative to anything that smacks of the formulaic and predictable.