Rhythms without borders: The dynamic rai of Khaled

It’s probably a good bet that the majority of the more than 5,000 listeners who turned out for Algerian singer Khaled’s appearance at Grand Performances in the California Plaza on Friday night didn’t understand a word he sang. At least those in Arabic, that is, since a few English lines surfaced from time to time.

But Khaled’s performance was so dynamic that it didn’t really seem to matter. Which was fascinating, since rai -- the North African music pioneered by singer-songwriter Khaled -- is a highly verbal form of expression. The word rai, in fact, means “opinion,” and Khaled, 45, has been using the music for nearly three decades to offer his opinions on subjects including social mores and world peace.

Khaled was backed by a scintillating ensemble of players -- whose members didn’t add up to the announced 28 musicians but were enough to provide a complete tapestry of sound and rhythm for Khaled’s vocal excursions. Blessed with a voice that moves easily from furry low notes to soaring head sounds, Khaled used it to the maximum.

In several numbers, he started phrases with an edgy, tight-throated quality, then switched suddenly to a warm baritone. On others, he underscored rap-style declamation with exercise-style dance moves.

A few pieces featured a three-person horn section in arrangements distinctly reminiscent of the jazz-driven style of Blood, Sweat & Tears, with Khaled’s Arabic melismas intertwining with surprising ease through the brassy riffs. And he climaxed his performance with a warm rendering of “Love to the People” from his newest album, “Ya-Rayi: Peace Through Music, Love to the People.”

It would have been useful for the non-Arabic-speaking members of the highly enthusiastic audience to have had some sort of English announcement, or translation, of Khaled’s material. His Arabic-speaking fans clearly responded to every number, often waving the flags of their native countries. But ultimately the great appeal of his performance was its capacity to leap past borders of language and culture into the wide-open arena of universal music.