I don’t know much about guitarist Lionel Loueke, except that his major label debut Karibou is out. It’s not my traditional fare, but Loueke’s roots in Benin make him and subsequently his music an intriguing figure. It doesn’t hurt that one of my favorite artists from any era (or all of them in the past 60 years), namely Herbie Hancock, is closely connected to Loueke through mentorship.
It was the entrancing and lovely opening notes I heard on Loueke’s website on a recent visit that has made me ever more curious to hear Loueke, who I might be fortunate enough to catch in person at the Regatta Bar in Cambridge very soon. Anyway, several samples later, and I’m certainly going to attempt to acquire Karibou soon.
Lately I’ve been trying to discover a realm of music closely related to my primary tastes but more contemporary. Though I could conceivably spend a lifetime “studying” or appreciating music from the an era past, there’s something about connecting to modern music that I want to embrace more fully, and Lionel Loueke represents a promising step in that direction.
