As musical fusions go, the Otaak Band’s combination of Sudanese traditional sounds with Western rock and R&B flourishes is sometimes disarmingly slick, often stark, but always soulful and arresting. Representing the nomadic Beja civilization, and playing the masankop — an ancient lyre — Ahmed Said Abuamna is a terrific singer who’s found a sensitive partner in Miguel Menino, an American hand drummer also skilled on the masankop. Their debut, “Bejawiya,” was one of 2012’s best world music surprises. Opening the show is local trio Body Omara (guitarist/composer Joseph Damman, bassist Tom Reichert and drummer Davu Seru), whose music is inspired by Malian guitar legend Ali Farka Toure and infused with American folk and jazz. (7:30 p.m. Wed., Cedar Cultural Center, $18-$20.) Surowicz