Top Canadian jazz flutist and saxophonist Jane Bunnett recorded her new album, “Embracing Voices,” with the Cuban vocal ensemble Desandann. But San Diegans won’t be able to hear, let alone embrace, any of those Cuban singers when she performs next Wednesday at the Athenaeum Jazz at the Neurosciences Institute concert series. “There’s a little thing called the embargo,” Bunnett explained. “The U.S. will not allow the singers in Desandann to come in. In early April we were touring west Canada, and when I get back from this tour, I’ll pick up with these guys.” In the meantime, Bunnett will perform here with Elio Villafranca on piano, Jorge Perez on bass, Jorge Najarro on timbales and Arturo Stable on percussion. All are Cuban musicians with U.S. credentials. “It’s a bit of an all-star group,” Bunnett said from her home in Ontario, Canada. “We’ve all performed together before, but it’s a first for this configuration. Everything takes on different chemistry when that happens. I’m excited about it.” Trumpeter Larry Cramer, Bunnett’s musical cohort and husband, has a good reason for skipping this tour. “He’s babysitting Cubans!” she said with an affectionate laugh. “Ever heard of `Home Alone’? Someone has to be in charge – we have 18 people in the house.” Is touring with that many people daunting? “You don’t know the half of it — traveling in the RV with all of us,” Bunnett said. “Some stayed in a hotel and others slept in the RV. We cooked in the RV — we looked like a soup kitchen in the hotel parking lot.” While the Neurosciences stage will be less crowded, the audience will hear a preview from the upcoming album, which won the 2009 Juno (Canada’s equivalent of the Grammy) for best contemporary jazz album. It will be released in the U.S. in mid-June. “We will do a couple of numbers from ‘Embracing Voices’ that I know can be nicely adjusted for the group,” she said. “We’ll play a potpourri of music from all our records, like `Ritmo + Soul’ and ` Radio Guantánamo’.” The concert will also include a new composition by New York-based pianist Villafranca, whose captivating 2008 album, “The Source In Between,” features straight-ahead originals with Afro-Cuban underpinnings. “Elio and I have been playing together for at least ten years,” Bunnett said. “I met him when our pianist’s visa was denied at the last minute and we arrived in Philly without a piano player. Elio filled in that night. It’s not like we were doing jazz standards; we were playing my original music. He did a great job and we’ve been playing together off and on since then. ” Having regularly led bands featuring Cuban musicians since 1991, Bunnett, 52, has encountered many hassles trying to obtain U.S. visas. “We’ve been down some rocky roads — you’re sitting and waiting to find out who can get in the country,” she said. “There are considerable costs having prepared the paperwork and then the visas get denied. It’s like flushing money down the toilet. I really hope those days are soon to be over. “I understand that things have to be done slowly and thoughtfully, but I think it’s inevitable that things will change.” She pointed to the Obama administration’s hope for dialogue as soon as certain conditions are met. “Whether you’re a musician, a painter or a dancer, you need to go to other countries to see how your art stands up on the world forum,” Bunnett said. “It’s sad that they can’t travel to the U.S., and vice versa, when there are such strong connections between the two countries. As a Canadian, I’ve been fortunate to access the music and come home inspired and channel that into something with my personal twist.” Two weeks after Bunnett’s appearance, jazz vocalist Karrin Allyson comes to the Neurosciences Institute, making her Athenauem debut. She will highlight tunes from her new CD, “Imagina: Songs of Brasil,” a lovely collection of pieces by the great bossa nova pioneer Antonio Carlos Jobim and others. The Athenaeum Jazz at The Neurosciences Institute series: Jane Bunnett & Spirits of Havana on Wednesday, May 13; and Karrin Allyson on Wednesday, May 27; both 8 p.m. The Neurosciences Institute is at 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive. Tickets for each concert: $25, members; $30 non-members. Call for tickets (858) 454-5872; for more information, go to www.ljathenaeum.org.