Lionel Loueke

Lionel Loueke – The Journey (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 52:52 minutes | 1,03 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Aparté

A shooting star of the international jazz scene, a genius guitarist demanded by the greatest (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Sting, Chick Corea), Lionel Loueke is an extraordinary artist. His unique musical personality blends genres and influences, from traditional African rhythms to western jazz. In The Journey, his first solo album for the label Aparté, he sings, vocalises, clicks his tongue, slaps his guitar strings, draws from funk, reaches out for the most unexpected harmonics and unfolds an incredible palette of sounds, like a one-man orchestra. Surrounded by impressive guests from all horizons (Pino Palladino, Patrick Messina, Vincent Ségal, Mark Feldman, Cyro Baptista…) under the direction of maestro Robert Sadin, multiple Grammy Award winner, Loueke delivers here his most personal record. From hopeful ballads (Molika, Kába) to irresistible rhythms (Gbê, Dark Lightning), this journey has an invigorating perfume of freedom.

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Lionel Loueke – HH (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 53:35 minutes | 1011 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Edition Records

HH is the brand new album featuring Lionel Loueke playing the music of his long-term mentor, the legendary Herbie Hancock. Lionel Loueke is one of the most singular, compelling and innovative artists of his (or any) generation on the international scene. Known for his ability to “transform the guitar into a virtual Afro-Western orchestra” (Jazz Times), he is a musician who transcends genre to create unparalleled sounds. In a deeply personal tribute, Lionel takes Herbie’s best-known compositions (including Cantaloupe Island, Watermelon Man and Rockit), to create music that is entirely fresh and new.

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Lionel Loueke – GAÏA (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 55:35 minutes | 1,21 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Blue Note Records

On GAÏA, Loueke reunited with his longtime trio featuring bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth for a session produced by GRAMMY-winning producer and Blue Note president Don Was that was recorded live in the studio with an intimate audience in attendance.
“I always wanted to record this trio live” says Loueke of the sessions, which were captured at Sear Sound in New York City. “We were all in the same room with a small audience, no headphones, no isolation and no overdubs of course. It has a real live feel. It was a very special event.”
Loueke’s compositional mastery is evident in the construction of the 11 original songs presented here and the trio’s performances are extraordinary, a testament to the intuitive dialogue these three musicians have developed since they first met while attending the Berklee College of Music in the late 1990s. “I don’t think we sound like any other trio on the scene today’ says an understated Loueke. “I have been writing for this trio for a long time. They can handle every metrical challenge in my songs. There is an inside communication between the three of us.”

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Lionel Loueke – Close Your Eyes (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 59:57 minutes | 976 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sounderscore Inc.

Lionel Loueke, one of the jazz world’s most searingly original and sought-after guitarists, has devoted the bulk of his output to original music. But Close Your Eyes, originally released on vinyl by Newvelle in 2018, found the Benin-born Loueke focusing entirely on standards and canonical jazz classics. Joined by the marquee rhythm section of bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland (known for their inspired teamwork in groups led by Charles Lloyd, Aaron Goldberg and more), Loueke applied his distinctive rhythmic and harmonic approach to material from the Great American Songbook as well as the oeuvre of jazz greats John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. Now, thanks to Sounderscore Records, an independent label founded by Loueke’s longtime Gilfema bandmate Massimo Biolcati, Close Your Eyes is being issued for the first time digitally.

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