Karibu

Lionel Loueke is releasing his first major label album, Karibu on March 25. It is an album where the guitarist and occasional percussionist explores a different type of Jazz.

The artist who is originally from Benin in West Africa studied music at the National Institute of Art on the Ivory Coast and at the American School Of Modern Music in Paris. He has continued his education by taking time to study at many music institutes in the states.

The well taught musician has released some solo work, as well as working on many other artist projects including one of his hero's, Herbie Hancock. Loueke was featured on Hancock's Grammy-winning The Joni Letters. Hancock also plays on two tracks on Karibu.

The style of Loueke's music is something that is not heard often. The African influence is very obvious. There are no lyrics on the album except for the occasional spoken word but it is not in English. The mouth however is used for percussion, which is something different.

On the CD some of the songs are just a little too percussion heavy and disjointed. It seems in every song some of the instruments are trying to battle one another and it can get in the way of the actual music. Also the story the music is trying to tell is not always clear.

The best song is probably the 6th song, "Benny's Tune". The style really flows well and the music from this point onward on the CD really picks up. The seventh song, Light Dark, which features both Herbie Hancock on piano and Wayne Shorter on the saxophone, is also very good. The battle between the instruments in this song really lends itself well and is actually soothing.

Overall Karibu (which means welcome in Swahili) is not receiving the best welcome from me. It just did not work for me. It is a good effort and would lend itself well to someone while they were reading. Each song individually has the opportunity to make a good score to a scene or a moment but as a whole it seems a bit disjointed. And while the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th song are good, that is less than half of the songs on the CD. I'd suggest skipping this CD unless you are really into experimental Jazz. It is not for an amateur Jazz listener.