Featured Tunes: Lionel Loueke

It’s not everyday that legends of jazz Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter line up to play on a debut album, but that’s just what happened with jazz guitar player and vocalist Lionel Loueke on his new album Karibu. We know a good thing when we hear it and Lionel’s guitar chops and vocal stylings, which are gently percussive and melodic at the same time, are stunning. Originally from Benin (a small country in West Africa), he combines a deep understanding of traditional African folk music and the jazz technique of musicians like George Benson and Wes Montgomery. After working as a musician in Africa for several years (his brother played guitar with Fela Kuti and King Sunny Ade), he moved from Paris to Boston to deepen his study of Jazz and to attend the Berklee College of Music. He went on to attend the world-renowned Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in LA, where Mr. Hancock quickly spotted this rising star (and we're oh-so-thankful!). We'll let the music speak for itself - the following video is quick introduction from Lionel himself.

A World of Music: Amadou & Mariam

Often referred to simply as "the blind couple from Mali," Amadou & Mariam are currently among the world's most well-loved African artists. Having constantly expanded their sphere of influence beyond Mali's border since meeting at the Bamako Institute for the Young Blind, the duo finally saw their breakthrough release 25 years later in 2005 with the Manu Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako. Chao's influence is heard loud and clear on the infectious "Senegal Fast Food", which will have you singing nonsense at the top of your lungs, because, even though you don't have any idea what they're saying, you just can't help but sing along.


Last fall saw the release of Welcome to Mali, which continued the musical explorations and embrace of contemporary sounds of Dimanche, weaving hip-hop and electronic elements into their music while hewing a bit closer to their Malian roots. The superstar producer's heavy yet skillful hand this time belongs to Blur/Gorillaz' Damon Albarn, whose work on "Sabali" results in one of Amadou and Mariam's most gorgeously haunting, if wholly untraditional, tracks to date.



Let us not forget, however, the decades of music that predated the duo's breakout success. The more traditionally African "Nangaraba", in particular, gets the head a bobbin' and the feet a tappin' with it's relentlessly propulsive beat, punchy brass, and agile, muscular bass.