The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Square, London N16 8JH | Bookings 020 7254 4097 | Enquiries 020 7993 3643 | Email Info at Vortex

CD reviews

New cd releases

 

Browse CD reviews

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 

Join the Vortex
email list

To receive monthly gig details, news and ticket offers.



RSS feeds

For news, gig and CD reviews and information about the club.

Click on the link below to get the subscribe address
Vortex news

For more informaton about RSS see the
RSS help pages

Lionel Loueke

Karibu

Blue Note 50999 5 19202 2 7

The sheer novelty of Lionel Loueke's approach ­ he simultaneously sings/croons in a gentle, high voice and picks out intriguing runs on guitar, thus producing not instrumental solos plus vocal accompaniment, but a single sound composed of voice and guitar ­ may not make his music immediately accessible, but once assimilated, it richly rewards the effort required to appreciate it.

The opening track of this album, which features Loueke's longstanding trio ­ eloquent bassist Massimo Biolcati and subtle drummer Ferenc Nemeth ­ is a softly stated but haunting vocal/guitar theme complemented by mouth percussion (another of the guitarist's signature mannerisms) and superficially, at least, might sound most at home in the 'African music' racks; under the surface, however, is a tricksy rhythm characteristic of contemporary jazz, and an ease of interaction between the trio members, ditto.

Supplemented on a couple of tracks by Herbie Hancock or Wayne Shorter (and on 'Light Dark' by both), the trio, whether picking its way carefully through Loueke's highly individual themes or exploring the many possibilities opened up in Hoagy Carmichael's 'Skylark' or John Coltrane's 'Naima' by their unique approach to rhythm and timbre, never grandstand or indulge themselves in showy virtuosity, but somehow contrive, throughout an absorbingly varied programme, to consistently impress with the novelty and freshness of their original style of music-making.

Asked why he had played a Blue Note sideman role for Loueke for the first time in nearly forty years, Shorter reportedly replied: 'There's only one of him' ­ such uniqueness and originality is increasingly rare these days, and Loueke should, consequently, be cherished.