Shambhala Dance

Barbara Markay is something of a musical chameleon, and Shambhala Dance is quite different from her first two albums, the synth pop Change to Come and the Latin-tinged Heart Like a Song. This time around, Markay is taking her direction from the Middle East and Southern Asia, particularly India, creating a world music/new age confection of dance tracks with lots of room for violinist Eric Gorfain and guitarists Alberto de Almar and Tim May to solo on top. Three tracks have vocals; Markay sings simple, affirmative lyrics in "Your Fire" and "Common Ground," while "The Gayatri" features Sanskrit chanting and recitations by her guru, Sathya Sai Baba. "A meditation through movement" is what the subtitle promises, and the music certainly provides a rhythmic accompaniment for swaying spiritually, or for belly dancing, for that matter, if one is so inclined.