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Lionel Loueke
Jazz prodigy
Paris
09/11/2006 -
"Traditionally, musicians from the West have been the ones who set the time while Africans have been renowned for taking theirs. But this guitarist from Benin may prove to be the first African musician to buck that trend, both setting the pace and taking his time." Even though this is necessarily a brief summing-up of Lionel Loueke's talent, journalist Philippe Condrieu, writing in Jazz Notes, has hit the nail on the head. In the space of just three years and three albums, the young guitar virtuoso from Benin has exploded the traditional frontiers between popular music from West Africa and the high art of North America, putting himself firmly on the musical map.
Recently, Loueke even graced the cover of Jazziz, the leading American jazz monthly, the magazine hailing him as the new icon of a jazz with no borders. While Loueke may not be the first musician to have reconciled the music of his roots with the technical prowess of jazz, on the current scene he certainly ranks as the man serving up the most subtle and controlled variation.
Impressive track record
As a budding guitarist first plying his fingers on the strings, Loueke was fascinated by the likes of Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass and George Benson. He went on to train at the American School of Modern Music in Paris, graduating with honours in 1998. Loueke then headed off to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, before honing his guitar skills at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in Los Angeles. Here, he made an impact on a jury which included the great Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, both of whom were blown away by his talent.
Crowned with so many diplomas from so many prestigious schools, Loueke could have contented himself with musical gymnastics, devoting himself to the art of producing the perfect demisemiquaver. But he has chosen another road instead, taking jazz classes because he says he was fascinated by improvisation and the idea of 'controlled freedom', but never once forgetting his own musical roots in the process.
Born in Benin on 27 April 1973, Loueke grew up in a home where music was literally a family tradition. "My grandfather was a traditional singer in the village," he explains, "and my father plays a little guitar, although not professionally. As for my older brother, Alexis, he played too – he was my first teacher, in fact!" Loueke grew up on a rich diet of big African orchestras, Fela Kuti heading his personal idol list. "Benin culture has exerted a powerful influence on me," he adds, "and on a lot of other cultures in the world like voodoo. Voodoo actually originated in Benin, then spread to other parts of the world in other forms, spreading to Haiti and Cuba and influencing various animist cults... But I also grew up immersed in Bourian music, a dance rhythm that's very close to Brazilian samba, as well as traditional sacred songs and dances."
Guitar and vocals
When Loueke began playing music at an impressively young age he started out on percussion. And he admits that this musical initiation has meant that he has kept "a real sense of rhythm on guitar" and it has influenced his way of "transposing harmony and melody phrasing." But when he adopted the guitar as his chosen instrument in the '90s, Loueke went off on a radically different tangent, heading out to Abidjan (at that point the veritable music hub of West Africa) and staying there until 1994.
His career took off at lightning speed after that, but Loueke has never hurried himself, preferring to proceed at his own pace. "I always sing when I play," he says, "I think it's beneficial for all musicians to sing – it helps you control musical phrasing and respiration better. All too often, instrumentalists forget to breathe."
Loueke has been showered with invitations to play with the crème de la crème of the jazz world. He has worked with Terence Blanchard and ended up composing half of the trumpeter's repertoire. Loueke has also played regularly with Herbie Hancock, whom he describes as "a truly unique musician - and a human being with his heart on his hand." Loueke went on to launch a solo recording career, releasing two albums on two small labels in 2005 – a solo album aptly entitled In A Trance and Gilfema, recorded as a trio with bass-player Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth (both of whom he hooked up with at music school in 2000). The albums made an instant impact, everyone demanding who this new musical UFO could be.
Album number 3
Lionel Loueke's third album has been eagerly awaited ever since - and now it has finally arrived, bearing a highly symbolic title: Rossignol (Nightingale). The album, which should catapult the guitarist songbird to even greater heights, reflects both sides of this groundbreaking musician's personality. "We recorded the album in two stages," Loueke explains, "The first part was done in Benin where we recorded simple percussion and vocal tracks that work as a sort of introduction to the album. Then, using that as our basic theme, we developed things in the studio."
The result is 60 superb minutes of nonchalant ballads and stirring choruses featuring contributions from an impressive list of guest stars including Loueke's musical accomplices from Gilfema as well as Grégoire Maret (the Swiss harmonica-player currently in great demand across the Atlantic), Gretchen Parlato (a highly original vocalist), master percussionist Cyro Batista and Herbie Hancock himself. Musicians who, like Loueke, have proved themselves to be open to new musical challenges and horizons.
In concert at Le Sunset Jazz Club, in Paris, on 8 & 9 November
Jacques Denis
21/01/2011 -
05/04/2010 -
