"Asefa," the eponymous debut by Samuel Thomas' band, gathers the sounds of klezmer and jazz together with African and Middle-Eastern music for a great mix of traditional tunes and original compositions. In addition to clarinet and sax, Samuel plays instruments unfamiliar to most listeners of Western music: bendir (Moroccan percussion) and ghaita, (a type of African flute) for a mesmerizing effect. There are 2 vocal tracks, including Ki Eshmera Shabbat, a popular Sephardic song for the Shabbat meal. The rest of the album is instrumental, but even without words the universal language of music conveys the Spirit. Asefa is the outcome of JATM, Jewish Awareness through Music, a project Thomas founded to teach Jewish culture all over the world.