Lionel Loueke: An Unassuming Guitar Hero Plays New York
Lionel Loueke at Blue Note Jazz Club, New York (05.13.08)
Halfway through his 8 o'clock set last night, guitarist Lionel Loueke paused to directly address New York City's Blue Note Jazz Club. Leaning into the mic, he smiled, "I don't know. I just want to keep playing," the residual rhythm of the just concluded "Karibu," title track to his new album, still hanging in the air. Trio introductions followed, showcasing the Benin native's dry, accented sense of humor and a deep rapport with Hungarian drummer, Ferenc Nemeth and Swedish-Italian bassist Massimo Biolcati, creative kin since their tenure at Berklee College of Music. They then inhabited "Seven Teens", an oddly signatured song from Karibu. Sans the album's piano feature from Loueke advocate, Herbie Hancock, it was looser. Nemeth slipped into his drum solo late in the arc, but hurled it back up in jocular dialogue with Loueke's expressive electric guitar.
The trio's musical instincts interlocked impressively, a function of time, certainly, but quite possibly shared transnationality. Loueke's vibrant west African sensibility led the way but he let his fellow globe trotters play, like on set opener "Benny's Tune." A malleable Loueke original previously tackled by his former bandleader Terence Blanchard among others, it began in solo. Loueke threaded his picking with low murmurs and steady spurts of linguistic clicks, most associated with southern African languages, proving himself an exemplar one man band. Yet when Biolcati and Nemeth entered, and they did so seamlessly, it rang as neither superfluous or cluttered. Together they ventured, as in all of the evening selections, into modern jazz territory before mining a well prospected middle ground. But the duskier side of the street, sunny and sub-Saharan, is where they capped the show. Participatory number "Nonvignon," abstracted on Karibu, landed as summer open air festival Afro Pop with the aid of bandstand guests Gregoire Maret, in the audience celebrating his birthday, and Gretchen Parlato, a frequent duet partner of Loueke's. Low on mics, they began tepidly but gained steam after Maret's hopping harmonica solo. Parlato and Loueke rejoined voices, invited the audience to respond, and folded into another of Loueke's singular grooves, playful, intricate and intimate.
Loueke's album, Karibu, is out now on Blue Note Records. He plays 8 PM and 10:30 PM sets at New York City's Blue Note Jazz Club through Thursday. For more dates, see his MySpace page.
Tags: Jazz, Lionel Loueke
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