World music is an umbrella term that means many different things to many different people.

The term has been used to describe everything from Celtic bands in Dublin and oud players in the Middle East to mariachi vocalists in Acapulco.

An instrumentalist who likes to keep his options open, flute player Terry Oldfield turned to a wide variety of world music for inspiration in the 1980s and 1990s and continues to do so on his 2000 release Spirit of the World.

Because his music has such a tranquil, peaceful quality, this CD is likely to fare well among new age audiences.

But you don't have to be a serious new age enthusiast to get into Spirit of the World--even if you're a world music lover who doesn't buy a lot of new age releases, you can get into Oldfield's albums.

Maintaining a tranquil ambiance, Oldfield uses this CD to take us to different parts of the globe, including Tibet on "The Tibetans," Greece on "The Greeks" and Africa on "The Africans." Oldfield isn't trying to be a purist--while "The Aboriginals" does contain elements of Australian Aboriginal music and finds Oldfield getting a didjeridoo-like sound from his electronic keyboards, parts of the piece bring to mind the Andean music of South American Indians.

And on "The Cambodians," you can tell that Cambodian music isn't the only Asian form Oldfield has listened to--this instrumental, in fact, underscores his appreciation of traditional Chinese music.

Whether you categorize Spirit of the World as new age, world music or ambient, this CD is the work of an instrumentalist who isn't afraid to take some chances.