The Flyer's music writers tell you where you can go. It's hoped that the recent influx of different nationalities into the area -- be they African, Indian, Asian, or Latino -- is opening not only the eyes of a lot of Memphians but their ears as well. The history of America has always been about the friction that occurs when different backgrounds try to co-exist, and in the case of music, that friction has frequently had glorious results. The clash of white and black culture has resulted in rock-and-roll and jazz. Tejano music, so popular in the Southwest, is a mixture of traditional Latin music and polka. But imagine if you took all the country's ethnic groups and mixed them up. You'd have something new, something all together original. It would have the effect of making the rest of the country a little more like New Orleans, which, except for the humidity, would not be bad at all. Which bring us to our pick of the week. Signs of the gradual spicing up of the Memphis music scene have been evident in the popularity of Orquestra Caliente, a straight-ahead salsa jazz combo that is helped considerably by the magnetic presence of the beautiful Melina Almodovar. But this week we get to see an all-too-rare appearance by an outside Latin band. New Orleans' Los Hombres Calientes will be at Automatic Slim's Thursday for two shows (8 and 10 p.m.) and at Proud Larry's in Oxford Friday. The group plays Latin jazz but don't let the second part of that tag turn you off. With a powerful percussion section that includes Jason Marsalis -- the youngest member of the Marsalises -- and Bill Summers of Herbie Hancock/Headhunters fame, this group has a reputation for thick, infectious Afro-Cuban rhythms that compel you from your seat. The group has only been together a little over a year, but has already racked up a slew of awards from the Crescent City music publications Gambit and Offbeat, and their self-titled debut CD was the top-selling disc at this year's JazzFest.