POP MUSIC REVIEW : Antilles to Hollywood, Kassav’ Shows the Crowd That <i> Zouk</i> Suits

It’s appropriate that Kassav’ took its name from a dessert treat found in its Caribbean homeland, the French Antilles. Making its Los Angeles debut Sunday night at the Hollywood Palladium, the 14-member troupe proved that while zouk , the style of music it has pioneered, is making hot and heavy progress dominating the world music dance market, the group’s Carnival-in-Guadeloupe spirit is sweet, subtle and smooth. Kassav’ is a piece of cake.

That doesn’t mean the Kassav’ experience was all empty calories: Using three alternating vocalists (Jocelyne Beroard, Patrick Saint-Eloi and Jean-Phillippe Marthely, traditional percussion and space-age synthesizers, the group built a catchy, swirling rhythmic undertow that bridged the syncopations of West African soukous and Caribbean soca , mixing in the spicy kind of horn section punctuations associated with salsa and an expertise gained from working in the best Parisian studios. The approach is sophisticated, yet never forsakes a sense of roots, a point underscored when the five core members of this musical collective engaged in some a cappella rhythmic gymnastics, taking the music back to its tribal, communal origins.

Kassav’ overcame language barriers (songs are sung in a Creole dialect) both through its easily accessible sound and staging that featured two beautifully sinewy dancers. Wearing a variety of costumes--including tight-fitting leather outfits to illustrate “Siwo,” a song by Beroard about hot romantic flashes--these women conveyed a body language as sensually erotic as the music’s intricate pulse.

But the showmanship never overpowered the group’s real intent. The best dance music works to create a sense of togetherness on the floor, and by the end of the evening, when the band had audience members holding hands, shouting “Zouk-e” and swaying in unison, Kassav’ had united all comers on the the most immediate and primal level.