Peruvian singer Susan Baca is blessed with the same curiosity that compels Afro-pop stars and folks like David Byrne to seek inspiration beyond their own borders. Though her music is rooted in the simple songs of Afro-Peruvian folklore, Baca incorporates touches of Astrud Gilberto's windblown Brazilian sweetness, Celia Cruz's wholly Cuban rhythmic certainty and Cesaria Evora's Cape Verdean rue into her understated delivery, "Se Me Van Los Pies," from her tremendous U.S. debut, illustrates this range: After two minutes of solemn atmosphere and ritual chanting, along comes a handdrum ensemble cranking out rudimentary hip-hop beats. The music morphs again, this time into a series of fiery call-and-response exchanges that captures Baca doing what she does best: revitalizing age-old melodies. (RS 771)

TOM MOON