After doing a Middle East tour as official cultural ambassadors for the U.S. State Department a few years ago, Ozomatli found their already wide-ranging, multicultural musical and thematic scope being expanded by the experience, as evidenced in the 2004 album 'Street Signs.'

It's hard to say how a just-completed trip to Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand under the same auspices will impact the Los Angeles-based group's music. But impressions were definitely made.

"We actually were super-interested in Middle Eastern and North African music before we went there," says Ulises (Uli) Bella, Ozo's sax and clarinet man. "I was listening to a lot of classical Arabic singers like Oum Kalthoum, Algerian rai, Egyptian music. And when we were there, a big thing for us was the villainization of the Arabic world after 9/11. My father's from Spain and my mother from Mexico, and Arabic culture and music is a huge influence in Spain. The country and people wouldn't be what we are if the Moors weren't there. To feel that up close was a treat.

Simply having Malian griot Cheick Hamala Diabate and his crew in the Blues Tent at the just-finished New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this year on the event's second Friday, was enough to make the connect-the-dots point, as he at one point switched from his traditional ngoni to its Transatlantic descendant, the banjo (a five-string in this case, no less). Then there was the the second-lining, umbrella-toting local woman coming on stage for a joyous dance-off with one of the troupe's singers. But there was more to come.

First a jaunt to the Congo Square stage for a little of a superjam featuring the city's two leading renewers and refreshers of the brass band traditions, the Dirty Dozen and Rebirth. But got waylaid on route by members of the Ori Culture Danse Club of Benin, who have set up a little ad hoc African marketplace next to the Jazz & Heritage Stage, resulting in some comical, coerced trying on of pants over shorts and linguistically tortured Franglish price negotiations (note to self: plan trip to Benin to get the $5 change still owed).

On This Date in 1986: 'You Give Love a Bad Name,' by Bon Jovi, takes over the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.

The Almanac Advises for November 29: "From Dweezil and Moon Unit Zappa and Zowie Bowie to Apple Martin and Bronx Mowgli Wentz, musicians have often bestowed their progeny with unusual monikers."

On This Date in 1986: 'Slippery When Wet,' by Bon Jovi, tops the Billboard 200 album chart.

The Almanac Advises for October 25: "'Slip and fall' lawsuits, where the plaintiff sustains an injury due to a wet substance under their feet, are among the most common types filed in civil courts. The amount recovered depends on various factors, including the severity of injury, the wealth of the defendant, the skill of the lawyer and the sympathy of the jury."

Jon Bon Jovi is upset that tickets for his eponymous group's free New York concert, set for Saturday in Central Park, are being sold via online auction sites for up to $1,000. Some 60,000 tickets were originally handed out to fans at no cost. The singer is also steamed that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has refused to stop the third-party sales.

"We have always had the best interest in the fans at heart and repeatedly ... tried to educate [show sponsor] MLB [Major League Baseball] and New York City about the fairest and easiest distribution of tickets," Bon Jovi posted to his band's official Web site before the heated observations were later removed.

"As I said before, 'No good deed goes unpunished,'" the rocker added. "There are reports in the media about tickets being scalped for the free concert. I for one am not surprised, but our organization is disappointed."

• Bon Jovi will play a free concert in New York City's Central Park on Saturday, July 12, in celebration of Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, which will be held at Yankee stadium on July 15. Tickets will be distributed at baseball parks and events throughout the city beginning July 2.

• Neko Case, M. Ward and Isobel Campbell are among the artists making guest appearances on the new Giand Sand album, titled 'Provisions.' That effort hits shelves on September 2.
  

• The Foo Fighters have added several dates to their summer U.S. tour, including an appearance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on September 28.

Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was arrested for suspicion of drunk driving late Tuesday night. Sambora was pulled over in Laguna Beach, Calif., after police say they saw him driving erratically. TMZ reports that the rocker failed several field sobriety tests. He was detained for DUI, but police report that there was no evidence of drug use.

Sambora has admitted to alcohol problems in the past. He briefly entered a treatment facility on two different occasions last year.