Lionel Loueke (born 27 April 1973) is a guitarist and vocalist born in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. He moved to

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

in 1990 to study at the National Institute of Art.

Biography

Loueke grew up in what he has described as a family of poor intellectuals in the West African country of

. He began playing percussion instruments around the age of 9 but was influenced by an older brother who played guitar, which he began playing himself when he was seventeen. He listened to guitarists

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

Kenny Burrell Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...

, and

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

. It took Loueke a year to earn the $50 he needed to buy his first guitar. When he lacked money to buy new strings, which had to be bought across the border in Nigeria, he soaked the strings in vinegar to keep them clean. When the strings broke, he replaced them with bicycle brake cables, which damaged the neck of the guitar and compelled him to find a carpenter to fix it. He studied at the National Institute of Art in Ivory Coast, the American School of Music in Paris from 1994 to 1998,

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

from 1999 to 2001, and the

Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock. The i ...

(previously the Thelonious Monk Institute) from 2001 to 2003. He got his first professional job by accident. At a club during a break, he took a guitar from the bandstand and started playing it. The club's manager heard him and offered him a job. He played African pop music, but he discovered jazz when a friend returned from Paris with a copy of an album by

. This inspired Loueke to study jazz in Paris. He auditioned for the, then, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of California Los Angeles. He was selected in a worldwide search by a panel of judges, including jazz musicians

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed ...

, and

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

. After UCLA, he appeared on Blanchard's albums ''

Bounce Bounce or The Bounce may refer to: * Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface Books * Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books Broadcasting, film and ...

'' (2003) and '' Flow'' (2005) and on Hancock's ''

Possibilities ''Possibilities'' is the forty-fifth studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released on August 30, 2005, by Hear Music and Vector Recordings. Background The album features a variety of guest musicians such as Trey Anastasio, Jo ...

'' (2006) and '' River: The Joni Letters'' (2007). He has also worked with Avishai Cohen,

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

, Angelique Kidjo,

Francisco Mela Francisco Jose Mela is a Cuban drummer and percussionist who has performed with a wide array of prominent international Latin and jazz artists including Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz, JoAnne Brackeen, Jane Bunnett, Regina Carter, Anat Cohen, Paquit ...

Gretchen Parlato Gretchen Parlato (born February 11, 1976) is an American jazz singer. She has performed and recorded with musicians such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Miller and Lionel Loueke. ...

Kendrick Scott Kendrick Scott (born July 8, 1980 in Houston, Texas, United States) is an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. He is the founder of the record label World Culture Music. Biography Kendrick A.D. Scott was born and raised in Houston. ...

Alison Wedding Alison Wedding (born 1972) is an American singer and composer based in New York City. Career She has performed with jazz musicians Gerry Mulligan, Dianne Reeves, Joe Chindamo, Bob Sedergreen, and Peter Knight. Before moving to New York in 20 ...

, Brian Blade,

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and ma ...

Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959. He began drumming at the age of four years, and was gigging in Bal ...

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Colai ...

Kenwood Dennard Kenwood Marshall Dennard (born March 1, 1956, New York City) is an American jazz drummer. Dennard learned piano as a child and took up drumming at nine years of age. He attended the Manhattan School of Music from 1972 to 1973 and Berklee College o ...

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

Kenny Garrett Kenny Garrett (born October 9, 1960) is an American post-bop jazz musician and composer who gained recognition in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and for his time with Miles Davis's band. His primary instruments are alto and ...

, Michael Eckroth,

George Garzone George Garzone (born September 23, 1950) is a saxophonist and jazz educator from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Garzone is a member of the Fringe, a jazz trio founded in 1972 that includes bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti. The ...

, Roy Hargrove,

Magos Herrera Magos Herrera (born October 24, 1970) is a Mexican jazz singer, songwriter, producer, and educator. She sings in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and has collaborated with Javier Limón, saxophonist Tim Ries, Aaron Goldberg, Pedro Aznar, Ed ...

, Bob Hurst, Alphonso Johnson,

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. When he was 12, he bought his first bass and decided on his career. He listened to bass parts in R ...

Dianne Reeves Dianne Elizabeth Reeves (born October 23, 1956) is an American jazz singer. Biography Dianne Reeves was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a musical family. Her father sang, her mother played trumpet, her uncle is bassist Charles Burrell, and h ...

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

, Sting,

Jeff "Tain" Watts Jeff "Tain" Watts (born January 20, 1960) is a jazz drummer who has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Betty Carter, Michael Brecker, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, and others. Biography Watts got the nickname "Tain" from Kenny ...

, and

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...

. He belongs to the trio

Gilfema Gilfema is a jazz trio consisting of Lionel Loueke (guitar), Ferenc Nemeth (drums), and Massimo Biolcati (bass). The name of the group comes from the musicians' names: Gil (Lionel Gilles Loueke), fe (Ferenc), ma (Massimo). They met at Berkl ...

with

Massimo Biolcati Massimo Biolcati (born 1972) is a Swedish-Italian-American jazz bassist who is a member of Gilfema and the Lionel Loueke Trio. Biography He is a founding member of Gilfema, a trio with Hungarian drummer Ferenc Nemeth and West African guitari ...

and Ferenc Nemeth. Both were his classmates at Berklee in Boston. Gilfema recorded the albums ''Gilfema'' (2005), and ''Gilfema + 2'' (2008) for

ObliqSound ObliqSound is a record label in New York City. It was founded by Tobias Tanner, Michele Locatelli, and Ralf Schmid. They studied music together at the New School in Manhattan. Their intent with Obliqsound is to produce musicians with a background ...

. As a solo act, Loueke recorded the live album ''In a Trance'' (2005) for Space Time Records and ''Virgin Forest'' (2006) for ObliqSound. He made his major-label debut in 2008 when

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

released his album ''Karibu''. NPR praised his fusion of African music with jazz harmonies, vocal inflections, and complex time signatures. The album includes Biolcati and Nemeth and guest appearances by Hancock and Shorter. His album ''Mwaliko'' (2010) is a collection of duo and trio performances that combines traditional West African music with jazz. Guests include Angélique Kidjo (a native of Benin),

Richard Bona Richard Bona (born 28 October 1967) is a Cameroon-born American multi-instrumentalist and singer. Early life Bona Penda Nya Yuma Elolo was born in Minta, Cameroon, into a family of musicians, which enabled him to start learning music from a y ...

from Cameroon, and American musicians

Marcus Gilmore Marcus Gilmore (born October 10, 1986) is an American drummer. In 2009, ''New York Times'' critic Ben Ratliff included Gilmore in his list of drummers who are "finding new ways to look at the drum set, and at jazz itself", saying, "he created th ...

and

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding be ...

. Loueke sings in

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

-inspired aspects, such as clicks (e.g., Nonvignon from Karibu). He doesn't speak Xhosa, and the singing is akin to

scatting In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

, having no linguistic meaning.

Awards and honors

In early 2008, Loueke's "Kponnon Kpété" won Best Traditional World Song in the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards. ''Virgin Forest'' was nominated World Fusion Album of the year. In 2009 he won a Fellow Award from

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

. United States Artists Official Website
Loueke recorded with the Australian band The Vampires on their album ''The Vampires meet Lionel Loueke''. The album was nominated for the 2017

ARIA Music Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

for Best Jazz Album.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

* ''Incantation'' (self-released, 2004) * ''In a Trance'' (Space Time, 2005) * ''Virgin Forest'' (Obliqsound, 2006) * ''Karibu'' (

, 2008) – recorded in 2007 * ''Mwaliko'' (Blue Note, 2010) * ''Heritage'' (Blue Note, 2012) * ''Gaia'' (Blue Note, 2015) * ''Hope'' with

Kevin Hays Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

(Newvelle, 2017) – recorded in 2016 * ''Obsession'' with Céline Rudolph (Obsessions, 2017) * ''The Journey'' (Aparte, 2018) * ''Close Your Eyes'' (Newvelle, 2018) P* ''HH'' (

Edition Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Recor ...

, 2020)

As group

with Ferenc Nemeth and

* ''Gilfema'' (Obliqsound, 2005) * ''Gilfema + 2'' (Obliqsound, 2008) * ''Three'' (Sounderscore, 2020) Blue Note All Stars * ''Our Point of View'' (Blue Note, 2017) CD

As sideman

With Jeff Ballard * ''Time's Tales'' (Okeh, 2013) * ''Fairgrounds'' (Edition, 2019) – live recorded in 2015 With

* ''

'' (

, 2003) * '' Flow'' (Blue Note, 2005) – recorded in 2004 * '' Choices'' (Concord Jazz, 2009) * ''

Magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particle ...

'' (Blue Note, 2013) With Oran Etkin * ''Kelenia'' (Motema, 2009) * ''Gathering Light'' (Motema, 2014) With

* ''

'' (Hear Music, 2005) – recorded in 2004 * '' River: The Joni Letters'' (Verve, 2007) – recorded in 2006–07 * ''

The Imagine Project ''The Imagine Project'' is the forty-sixth and latest studio album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock released on June 22, 2010. Prominent guests include John Legend, India Arie, Seal, Dave Matthews, Jeff Beck, Chaka Khan, Tedeschi & Tr ...

'' (Sony, 2010) With Angelique Kidjo * '' Djin Djin'' (Razor & Tie, 2007) * ''Õÿö'' (Razor & Tie, 2010) * ''Sings'' with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (429, 2015) * ''Remain in Light'' (Kravenworks, 2018) With Ferenc Nemeth * 2005: ''Night Songs'' (Dreamers Collective, 2007) * 2012: ''Triumph'' (Dreamers Collective, 2012) With

* ''Gretchen Parlato'' (self-released, 2005) * ''In a Dream'' (Obliqsound, 2009) – recorded in 2008 With others *

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wi ...

, '' Love Will Find a Way'' (Verve, 2019) *

Kenny Barron Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Biography Born in Philadel ...

, '' The Traveler'' (Universal, 2008) – recorded in 2007 *

Rhian Benson Rhiannon Afua "Rhian" Benson (born 10 January 1977 in Accra, Ghana) is a Ghanaian-British soul and jazz singer and songwriter. Early life Benson was born in Accra, Ghana, to a Welsh mother, who was a singer, and an Ashanti father, who was a g ...

, ''Gold Coast'' (DKG, 2003) *

, ''Persona'' (Obliqsound, 2008) *

Robi Botos Robi Botos is a Hungarian-Canadian jazz pianist. He has recorded several albums as a leader and was the winner of the Concours de Jazz, TD Grand Jazz Award at the 2012 Montreal International Jazz Festival. In 2016, Botos won the JUNO Award for Bes ...

, ''Old Soul'' (A440 Entertainment, 2018) * Donald Brown, ''Fast Forward to the Past'' (Space Time, 2008) *

Jeff Coffin Jeff Coffin (born August 5, 1965) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. He is a three-time Grammy Award winner as a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, with whom he performed from 1997 until 2010. In July 2008, Coffin began t ...

, ''Into the Air'' (Ear Up, 2012) – recorded in 2010 * Avishai Cohen, ''After the Big Rain'' (Anzic, 2007) – recorded in 2006 *

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the '' Modern ...

, '' Chinese Butterfly'' (Stretch, 2017) *

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, ...

, '' Sound Travels'' (eOne, 2012) – recorded in 2011 *

Tony Grey Tony Grey (born March 25, 1975, in Newcastle, England) is an English bass player, composer, producer, author and award winning music educator; Grey studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and graduated receiving the "Outstanding Performe ...

, ''Chasing Shadows'' (Abstract Logix, 2008) *

, '' Land of the Sun'' (Verve, 2004) – recorded in 2003 *

Miho Hazama is a Tokyo-born composer and jazz musician, based in New York City. Early life and career Miho Hazama started to play electric keyboard at the age of three at Yamaha Music Foundation's School, and received attention when she proceeded to the f ...

, ''

Dancer in Nowhere ''Dancer in Nowhere'' is an album by Miho Hazama and her chamber orchestra m_unit, released in November 2018. This album was nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. Track listing :''All compositions by Mih ...

'' (Verve, 2018) *

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

, '' Aziza'' (Dare2, 2016) – recorded in 2015 *

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

, '' ... Featuring Norah Jones'' (Blue Note, 2010) – compilation *

Nicolas Kummert Nicolas Kummert (born March 12, 1979) is a Belgian jazz singer and tenor saxophonist. Biography In 2001 Kummert graduated at the Brussels conservatory with teachers Jeroen Van Herzeele and John Ruocco. He was also taught by Fabrizio Cassol. ...

, ''La Diversite'' (Edition, 2017) * Takuya Kuroda, ''Rising Son'' (Blue Note, 2014) * Eric Le Lann &

Jannick Top Jannick "Janik" Top is a French bass player and composer, born in Marseille. Top plays the electric bass and the cello. In the 1970s, he was a lead member of the influential zeuhl band Magma, along with Christian Vander and Didier Lockwood. Fr ...

, ''Le Lann Top'' (Nocturne, 2007) *

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

, '' Cross Culture'' (Blue Note, 2013) * Meeco, ''Souvenirs of Love'' (Double Moon, 2014) *

, ''Cirio'' (Half Note, 2008) * Laura Mvula, ''The Dreaming Room'' (Sony, 2016) * Marius Neset, ''Circle of Chimes'' (ACT, 2017) *

Michel Portal Michel Portal (born 27 November 1935) is a French composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be "one of the architects of modern European jazz". Early life Portal was born in Bayonne on ...

, ''Bailador'' (Classics & Jazz, 2010) *

Gonzalo Rubalcaba Gonzalo Rubalcaba (born May 27, 1963) is an Afro-Cuban jazz pianist and composer. Early life Rubalcaba was born Gonzalo Julio González Fonseca in Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The ...

, ''XXI Century 5'' (Passion, 2011) CD*

Robert Sadin Robert Sadin is an American jazz musician, conductor, arranger, composer and producer. He was conductor of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Discography As leader * ''Art of Love: Music of Machaut'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 2009) As producer * Kathl ...

, ''Art of Love'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 2009) *

Jacques Schwarz-Bart Jacques Schwarz-Bart (born 22 December 1962 in Les Abymes) is a French jazz saxophonist. Biography His mother is the Guadeloupean novelist Simone Schwarz-Bart, author of ''The Bridge of Beyond''. His father was French-Jewish author André Schwar ...

, ''Sone Ka-La'' (EmArcy, 2006) *

, ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' (World Culture Music, 2007) – recorded in 2006-07 *

Kavita Shah Kavita Shah is a vocalist and composer from New York, NY. She has been hailed by NPR for possessing an “amazing dexterity with musical languages”. Early years Shah's family is of Gujarati origin, and her parents are originally from Mumb ...

, ''Visions'' (Naive, 2014) *

Elizabeth Shepherd Elizabeth Shepherd (born 12 August 1936) is an English character actress whose long career has encompassed the stage and both the big and small screens. Her television work has been especially prolific. Shepherd's surname has been variously ren ...

, ''The Signal'' (Linus, 2014) * Nate Smith, ''Kinfolk'' (Ropeadope, 2017) *

Walter Smith III Walter Smith III (born September 24, 1980) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the Chair of the Woodwind Department at the Berklee College of Music. In addition to performing with his own group, Smith is a member of the Ambros ...

, ''Casually Introducing'' (Fresh Sound, 2006) * Somi, ''Red Soil in My Eyes'' (World Village, 2007) *

Omar Sosa Omar Sosa (born April 10, 1965) is a jazz pianist from Cuba. Biography A native of Camagüey, Cuba, Sosa studied percussion at the Escuela Nacional de Musica and Instituto Superior de Arte. In the 1980s he started the band Tributo, recording alb ...

, ''Eggun'' (Ota, 2013) * Luboš Soukup Quartet, ''Země'' (Animal Music, 2017) *

Luciana Souza Luciana Souza (born 12 July 1966) is a Brazilian jazz singer and composer who also works in classical and chamber music. Her song ''Muita Bobeira'' was featured as a music sample on Windows Vista. Music career Grammy winner Luciana Souza is one ...

, ''Speaking in Tongues'' (Sunnyside, 2015) *

, ''

Radio Music Society ''Radio Music Society'' is the fourth studio album by Esperanza Spalding, which was released through the record label Heads Up International on March 20, 2012. The album earned Spalding Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Instrumental ...

'' (Heads Up, 2012) * The Vampires, ''The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke'' (Earshift, 2017) *

Florian Weber Florian Weber (born 11 November 1977) is a German pianist and composer of modern jazz. Early life and education Weber was born on 11 November 1977 in Detmold. His family was musical: "his father was a music professor and his mother an opera singe ...

, ''Biosphere'' (Enja, 2012) – recorded in 2011 *

Kenny Werner Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Werner began playing and performing at a young ...

, ''Coalition'' (Half Note, 2014)

References

External links

Official siteLionel Loueke: Jazz Meets African Rhythms On 'Mwaliko'
audio report by ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Loueke, Lionel 1973 births Living people African jazz guitarists Berklee College of Music alumni Jazz composers Beninese male singers People from North Bergen, New Jersey Independent Music Awards winners 21st-century guitarists Gilfema members Edition Records artists Blue Note Records artists