Some string instruments have such a strong flavour that they pervade a whole broth. Kenny Garrett's Beyond The Wall (Nonesuch), for example, sees the saxophonist's late Coltranean jazz stylings engage with China. On most of the tracks the connection is subliminal. But on the horribly titled "Tsunami Song", on which Garrett switches from saxophone to lyrical piano, the conceit works. The lead melody is taken by Guowei Wang on the ehru, a hoarse, instantly evocative Chinese fiddle. It is the most successful synthesis of Chinese and American music since Greg Edmondson's soundtrack for Firefly.

The kora, the many-stringed West African harp, is a stubborn instrument: scintillating on its own, it is reluctant to share the limelight. Ali Farka Touré, legendarily tenacious when it came to defending his own musical space, was wise enough to acknowledge this when he played with Toumani Diabaté on In The Heart Of The Moon, and relegated himself to the role of rhythm guitarist, effacing himself out of Diabaté's way.