But not every act performing on the venue's three stages emphasizes hot, polyrhythmic dance numbers. Kaumakaiwa Kanaka'ole, for example, offers traditional Hawaiian music underpinned by smooth synth drums. Then there's Vincent Segal and Ballaké Sissoko, a cellist from France and a kora player from Mali, respectively. Their album "Chamber Music" (Six Degrees) is a poignant and thoughtful marriage of Western and African classical sounds. The duo's music moves and warms us through its unique blend of the cello's sonority and the kora's harp-like ringing tones.

Messrs. Segal and Sissoko met several years ago in northern France when Mr. Segal was playing behind Chocolate Genius, a project of New York singer-songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson. "Ballaké asked if we could meet in Paris," Mr. Segal recalled late last month by phone. "For three or four years, we just played in my flat."

Mr. Sissoko was already a veteran of cross-cultural collaborations. He had played with American bluesman Taj Mahal and in 2003 recorded "Diario Mali" (Sony Classical) with the Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi. He said through a translator recently he thought he and Mr. Segal were a good match.

"Initially, there was a sort of chemistry, but even with that we had to work a lot together," Mr. Sissoko said. "It was facilitated by the fact that we both listen well."

"With Ballaké," Mr. Segal said, "I had to work on my precision. He explained to me the groove and the syncopation."

Both Mr. Sissoko and Mr. Segal brought new material to "Chamber Music." "Houdesti"—a long, delicate number with a blues feel—is indicative of Mr. Sissoko's approach to composition, Mr. Segal said. Fassery Diabate on balafon, which is an African kin to a xylophone, and Mr. Segal on cello, double Mr. Sissoko's stately lines. Later in the piece, Mr. Segal solos in counterpoint to Mr. Sissoko's repeating theme. "It's very original," the cellist said. "It doesn't have anything to do with traditional African music."

On Mr. Segal's composition "Oscarine," the cello establishes a pattern on the bottom while Demba Camara on bolon fills the midrange, thus allowing Mr. Sissoko to range freely. "That's my idea of a groove," Mr. Segal said of his part. On "'Ma-Ma' FC," he solos in the cello's upper register before Mr. Sissoko steps in; for a while, the cello, kora and bolon all lock in, as if each were waiting for another member of the group to seize the moment. "The idea for us is to play in a spiritual way that can come from traditional kora playing or classical music," Mr. Segal said.

Mr. Sissoko added, "Because I was working with an artist for comes from a European culture, what was important was to find the middle ground."

Both members of the duo realize "Chamber Music" challenges the prevailing preconception of contemporary West African music. "I don't look at my music as specifically Malian. I am a musician who has never taken a traditional approach," Mr. Sissoko said. "What we are trying to produce is music of today. The kora can be accessible in many different contexts."

"Some people think African music is all fast," Mr. Segal said. "It's a stereotype. You have every kind of music there. With the kora, we can play like baroque music.

"Some people think that it's exotic that we play together, but it's not," he added. "We play together—the idea is to see how we respond."