Most musical instruments are made to be played by only one musician at a time. But from Spain's Basque Country comes an instrument built for two. The txalaparta, third cousin to the vibraphone, has entered world music circles through the efforts of the Basque duo Oreka Tx. Seeing their chosen instrument as a metaphor of musical encounters, their latest CD is a set of collaborations with musicians from India, Lapland, Mongolia and North Africa. The results are melodic, intriguing and organic, as if the duo has tapped into forgotten currents of culture that traveled the world's trade routes in the early centuries of history.
