LIONEL LOUEKE - Karibu
Blue Note, 2008

Like a jumble of pretty trinkets found in a box, this session from guitarist Lionel Loueke has an unstructured, highly impressionistic feel, full of glittering flashes and mysterious depths. Loueke’s trio, with bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth, combines friendly elements of Loueke’s African background with laid-back noodling, lopsided rhythms and Loueke’s own quiet falsetto vocal accompaniment for a unique sound that’s appealing yet enigmatic. But when guest stars Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter show up, the music reaches another level. Building vast dreamscapes through Hancock’s lyrical piano abstractions and Shorter’s spiky scribbling on soprano saxophone, Loueke’s bright, singing guitar lines seem to drift down from some higher, more elusive plane of existence.

Fo’s Picks: 2, 3, 5, 8, 9

1. 6:50 – perky african groove, spare guitar over chewy bassline, busy perc.
2. 6:57 – relaxed lope, air of mystery, some spiky moments, excellent piano
3. 6:48 – “Skylark” deconstructed: lumpy rhythm, pretty guitar, cool drums
4. 6:31 – upbeat roll, gentle vocal: blows up, breaks down, wanders softly
5. 7:06 – “Naima” starts very quiet, then walks; sax wails and scribbles
6. 6:09 – warm bounce turns pensive, insistent; like guitar is searching
7. 10:10 – mysterious, abstract, then like a billowing dreamscape
8. 6:05 – kind of a funky rhythm, playful guitar, casual noodling
9. 5:41 – pleasing blend of African highlife and modern jazz; solo digs in

– [Fo] 4/9/2008