My fellow Chicagoans have a rare opportunity to hear the sophisticated Indonesian pop of SambaSunda, who perform at Millennium Park Monday. Describing a sampler of the group released by Far Side Music in 2005, one reviewer (okay, it was me) likened it to "a batik woven from the sounds of the Middle East, the Indonesian archipelago and perhaps (in the vocal of one track) a hint of Indian film music." The 17-piece group is led by Ismet Ruchimat, who got his start performing with the Jugala Orchestra in 1989 and later led the Jugala All Stars on Sabah Habas Mustapha's world music hit Jalan Kopo.

Aside from Ismet's skills as a composer and singer Rita Tila's gorgeous voice I'm most anticipating the feast of diverse timbres that emanate from instruments such as the metal Sundanese gamelan degung and bamboo angklung.

The performance begins on Monday, July 23, 6:30 pm.