Lionel Loueke - Karibu
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Free Music Notes for Karibu
Free Music Review: Karibu, an original jazz work
Hit: 4 Stars
Lionel Loueke shows why he is in such high demand these days. Jazz meets Africa in an organic way. Can't wait for more!Free Music Review: HE IS CERTAINLY TALENTED
Hit: 5 Stars
World ethnic jazz with warm vocals, beat and melodic guitar playing from LIONEL LOUEKE .A lot of african influences are presented with a vey balanced way in KARIBU .Kudos to all the members of the band .Free Music Review: Strong talents -- some retro flavor
Hit: 4 Stars
There is no doubt that Loueke is a serious talent. Some very alert, alive playing here. The brief presence of veteran Wayne Shorter on sax raises the musicianship to quite a high level. But Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter can't counter what seems like a time warp back to the 1970's, with an improvisatory sound palette of what we used to call "modal noodling." ECM groups like Oregon come to mind.
Loueke is a very able vocalist, adding some interesting vocal clicks and pops and lovely African melodies to his guitar instrumentals. At first however his vocalizing in unison with the melody sounds like ancient George Benson revisited. Granted, he does it very well, but be prepared to hear some motifs that sound distinctly dated.
DESPITE these criticisms, I have really enjoyed this CD and intend to listen to it more. Not all the cuts are affected by the retro feel. The final impression is of a warm and original talent of considerable conviction whose musicianship is beyond question. This was my first sampling of his work, and I intend to look for more. 4 stars, recommended.
Free Music Review: Joyous
Hit: 5 Stars
Oh, man. This is really good. As "the bomba" says, a lot of African influence here. Seems to let air and sunshine into the textures of every tune. Makes me smile to hear it.
Sometimes the groove is explicit, as in the beautifully sculpted "Naima." More often the groove is implicit -- now that's an interesting trick. Loueke and his sidemen play above, below, around, beside the beat in such a way that you actually hear (sense) the rhythmic foundation mainly through its absence. That make sense? Wait till you've heard it.
Incidentally, for all the good things that were said about this recording, I don't think bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth got nearly enough credit. This is a band, folks! It takes the three of these guys to create these fluid, incredibly inventive takes on standards and originals. They get airborne *together*. Seriously, it is obvious that this trio has done enough gigging to know each other's moves, and how to fit together. One of Loueke's strengths is that he is a phenomenally generous ensemble musician.
Yes, of course he has conventional jazz chops. Yes, Hancock and Shorter "dominate" the cuts they appear on to some extent. But they also share in the joyous give and take established by the leader.
There is a sense of peace and stillness at the heart of much of this music, and yet it's also just jumping with vitality. Both the stillness and the life owe a lot, somehow, to Loueke's African roots.
I am just so glad I have this.
Free Music Review: Fresh jazz sounds.
Hit: 4 Stars
The album's title is the Swahili word for 'welcome'.
Born in Benin, West Africa, he moved to Ivory Coast where he studied at the prestigious National Institute of Art. He lived for a while in Paris and then moved to US where he studied at the Berkllee School of Music in Boston, where he majored in performing jazz performance.
The Africam musician has released some solo work, as well asworking on many other artist projects including one of his hero's, Herbie Hancock. Loueke was featured on Hancock's Grammy-winning "The Joni Letters". Hancock also plays on two tracks on Karibu.
The style of Loueke's music is something that is not heard often. The African influence is very obvious. There are no lyrics on the album except for the occasional spoken word but it is not in English. The mouth however is used for percussion, which is something different.
Comparisons can be made between Loueke and Richard Bona, this Cameroonian also coupling voice and high-bass guitar, playing in the mellow Afro-jazzy manner.
As said above, KARIBU means WELCOME in Swahili.
It is this warm sentiment which underscores the African guitarist's debut album for Blue Note.
Sprinkling African sounds over a smooth jazz palette, Loueke presents himself as a master of subtlety and joie de vivre.
He possesses a gently cascading quality that's akin to the silken lightness proffered by Pat Metheny.
There are two covers on the set - John Coltrane's "Naima" and the Hoagy Carmichael tune "Skylark". The seven originals blend Loueke's influences into a fresh sound. With faint vocals in his native Swahili, Loueke offers rich, free-form explorations.
The version of John Coltrane's "Naima" opens with electronic quietness, tongue-clicks mixing with string-strikes, opening up into kora-chords, as Loueke mimics the West African harp-lute sound.
Lionel sounds like he's playing an acoustic guitar on most of these tracks, but invariably feeding it through a bank of subtle effects.
Hancock and Shorter appear on two tracks apiece, and their presence tends to add a much-needed tension, to the point where they can't help dominating the three tunes in question (they're both on board for the stand-out "Light Dark"). Herbie lends a percussive force to his piano outpourings, and Wayne's quicksilver soprano saxophone phrases spout forth without pause: the battle between the instruments in this song really lends itself well and is actually soothing.
These tracks have a greater dynamism compared with the too-relaxed trio outings.
One of the best tracks is "Benny's Tune". The style really flows well and the music from this point onward on the CD really picks up.
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