Composer, multi-instrumentalist and Ivory Coast native Seguenon Kone wanted to create a new kind of musical ensemble. To that end, he traveled the world, settling in New Orleans in 2009. The result was Ensemble Fatien.

The group takes West African rhythms as its musical starting point, tossing in a diverse cast of African and Louisiana folk musicians. While names like Jason Marsalis and Dr. Michael White will be familiar to New Orleanians, the sound most likely will not. The group hopes to rediscover the ancestral bond between West African and African- American musical cultures. The album opener, “Drum Call,” makes a compelling case. It builds a pounding rhythm which then expands and evolves. Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes’ accordion and Jason Marsalis’ vibraphone fit in particularly well, gently nudging the sound in novel directions without overpowering.

Like most stylistic mash-ups, Fatien is most successful when the seams don’t show. While they do their best to bring it into the idiom, a meandering “St. James Infirmary Blues” leaves me wondering “why?” Integrating soloists into this sort of pulse-based music proves tricky. There are times when the bluesy licks of White’s clarinet clash with Fatien’s subdued minimalism. At other times though (such as on the aforementioned “Drum Call”), he melts into the scenery beautifully. And that’s when the group sounds best—when no single ego dominates. Ensemble Fatien thrives when it creates something organically new. More often than not, it succeeds.