Bill Frisell took the Downtown New York jazz scene to Nashville, and Marc Ribot did the same thing for Cuba with his Los Cubanos Postizos and Muy Divertido. But until Frisell's The Intercontinentals the robust, haunting sound of Malian blues guitar was largely untouched by six-stringing jazzoids. The aptly named Frisell ensemble here includes Brazilian guitar and vocal great Vinicius Cantuaria (playing solid drums half the time), Mali's premier percussionist Sidiki Camara, Greek oud and bouzouki virtuoso Christos Govetas, pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz, and violinist Jenny Scheinman. Rather than cover all the band's continents, though, the focal point is largely singular: "Boubacar" (in honor of Malian guitar pioneer Boubacar Traore) opens the set and has its vibe continued with a cover of his "Baba Drame," and everywhere the notes are hit and moods invoked as if Ali Farka Toure were looking on from Timbuktu. This is, though, still Frisell. An American earthiness crops up in Leisz's steel, as does the Mediterranean in Govetas's oud. And Frisell's sampled loops create an atmospheric cloudiness grounded by Camara's calabash and djembe and Cantuaria's drumming. In the constant sonic middle ground are the trifecta of oud, violin, and bass, merging the melody and rhythm brilliantly. Rootsy and undeniable, The Intercontinentals is yet another Frisellian work of genius.