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Somewhere on an island of Sicily, there lies a small coffee shop where many strangers from many different cultures and backgrounds come together to have a drink, maybe to listen to music, maybe to play a little music themselves, but always to tell their stories. Whether this place of cultural exchange exists or not, it is the premise of Milagro Acustico's new album "I Storie ò Cafè di lu Furestiero", which translates in English to "The Stories of the Strangers' Coffee".

The overall style of the album is very smooth, jazz lounge-y. There are muted trumpets, jazz harmonies, and a variety of world instruments that pull off the café feeling very well. The voices of the Italian mandolin (a small, guitar-like instrument with a plucky, elegant,banjo-like sound), the African djambe (a percussion instrument with a rich, deep sound), the middle eastern darbuka (also a deep percussion instrument which produces a more fluid beat), and the cora (a west african harp) interweave with the sounds of the more traditional instruments to form a musical texture of the deepest richness. Think of it like a smooth blend of coffee, tasty and rich with several flavors swirled together to form a taste beyond satisfying.

The album is a project that took over two years to complete because of the talent that had to be gathered from around the globe. Milagro Acoustico is a world music group based in Rome. Their head writer/composer Bob Salmieri is Sicilian himself, but travels extensively, recruiting talent from among those skilled at playing traditional instruments from all corners of the world.

Just as the strangers in the story come from varied backgrounds, so do the songs. Each of the songs is an expression of a tale from someone from a different cultural heritage, and the instruments and the style reflect that. For example, "Lu Munnu Brucia" (The World is Burning) is the story of a man from the Philippines who has seen the people of his little home island give up their traditions and take up Western ways instead. The song combines an Italian foundation with a Filipino style of singing (in Sicilian) and ends with a somber or even sad tone, but never harsh to the ear or even depressing.

Yet another track, "The Merchant" has a sound that evokes that classic Moroccan marketplace feel. The "merchant" of this story has seen a lot of things in his time, and the music which blends the influences of Sicily, Italy, Morocco, and various miscellaneous others explain the myriad tales that would take words ages to accomplish. Another very unique track on Milagro consists of a collection of voices of people praying at a temple. You can hear the desires, the woes, and the praises of people who have come from all around to gather at this altar and lift their voices to a higher power -- and even though it is in Sicilian, the raw emotion in the voices of the people makes the point of their supplication quite clear.

As is often the case with Jazz, the songs are not very happy in sound, but the album is not all gloom and doom. Although there are no songs about bunny rabbits or happy, dancing flowers, none of the songs are testaments to despair either. There are no songs that make you want to get up and dance, but none so emotionally intense that they bring you to tears either. It is the kind of mood music that you put on when all that you want to do is curl up in a blanket, sit down in a cozy chair, sip a hot drink, and just relax.