A Prime Chance to Hear One of Bengal’s Favorites

There’s nothing quite like the Bauls of Bengal. Their high, soaring vocals, accompanied by hypnotically gripping rhythms, possess a sensuality reminiscent of the passions of flamenco blended with the devotional intensity of qawwali.

This weekend, Purna Das, perhaps the best-known exponent of Baul music, makes a rare Southland appearance in programs at the Koan Collection in Hollywood on Saturday and at the Ash Grove in Santa Monica on Sunday.

In performance, Das is a compelling figure, with bells on his ankles, playing the small khamak drum, dancing and swaying as he sings in a high, incisive tenor. The texts of his songs are folk- and myth-based, filled with imagery of mystical union with the divine. Often, they are sensual and erotic--a reflection of the Bauls’ belief, similar to that of Tantric Buddhism, that sexual desire is the central source of all love.

The Bauls travel from village to village in Bengal, espousing a religious doctrine that is neither Muslim nor Hindu. It incorporates elements from each while insisting upon independence.

Das is the son of Naboni Das, an equally renowned singer and a close associate of the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. The younger Das has toured the U.S., Asia and Europe since the early ‘60s, and has recorded more than 40 albums. A favorite of Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg, he also has performed with Mick Jagger, Richie Havens, Herbie Mann and Peter Gabriel.

* Purna Das and the Bauls of Bengal, Saturday at the Koan Collection, 6109 Melrose Ave., 8 p.m. (213) 464-3735. Also Sunday at the Ash Grove, 250 Santa Monica Pier, 7:30 p.m. (310) 656-8500.

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Collections: With a rush of world music arriving in record stores, collections and compilations can be valuable on two counts: as an opportunity to get a comprehensive overview of a specific genre, or, conversely, as an easy entry into a wide array of different musics.

Two collections from Celestial Harmonies are impressive examples of the comprehensive overview of a specific genre approach: “The Music of Bali” and “The Music of Armenia.”

The three-CD boxed set of Balinese music represents four unique styles. The first, Jegog music, features four-tone bamboo instruments. The second combines traditional gamelan with more current approaches, while the third and fourth represent two kinds of ritualistic music, the vocalized Kecak chanting and the processional Tektekan.

“The Music of Armenia” is a superb, seven-CD boxed set encompassing the amazingly diverse music of Armenia. There are chants, folk tunes, instrumental music and rich choral harmonies in a collection that underscores the stunning and far too little acknowledged creative density of Armenian culture.

Among the more far-reaching survey compilations, “The Planet Sleeps” (Sony/WORK) includes traditional songs and lullabies from more than a dozen countries. Recorded in everyday settings, the disc contains a Bosnian lullaby recorded in a church as fighting continued outside. (Fifty cents from each retail sale of the album will be donated to UNICEF). . . . “Voices” on the new independent label Alula Records features vocal ensembles ranging from the medieval music ensemble Sarband and the Florentine trio Trinovox to the Belgian-African a cappella group Tam’Echo’Tam and the Bulgarian Voices. . . . Narada World’s two-CD “A Global Vision” surveys the company’s long-term involvement with soft-spoken world music via performances by John Whelan, Carlos Guedes, Bill Miller, R. Carlos Nakai and others. . . . “Peaceful Planet/Rhythm Zone” (Mango) covers both the meditative and the energetic aspects of world music with two CDs--the first devoted to laid-back numbers by Ismael Lo, Salif Keita, Uakti, et al, the second to more heated excursions from Daniel Ponce, Thomas Mapfumo and Angelique Kidjo.

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Around Town: Cubanismo!, led by trumpeter Jesus Alemany, produces an electrifying blend of Cuban traditional rhythms with contemporary dance and solid jazz improvisation. A new album, “Malembe” (Hannibal Records), is just out, and the band brings its soaring brass and irresistible rhythms to the Ash Grove on Tuesday. Info: (310) 656-8500.

San Jose Taiko performs an evening of Japanese drumming at El Camino College’s Marsee Auditorium on Saturday. (800) 832-ARTS. . . . Hassan Hakmoun, who fuses traditional gnawa with pop rhythms, is at the House of Blues on May 13. . . . LunaPark’s May world music lineup includes Yoka Enzenze’s African soukous and rumba on Saturday, Raks Majnon’s Turkish trance music on May 17, and Meia Noite & Midnight Drums on May 24.