Karibu is the fourth album by guitarist Lionel Loueke from Benin and his first for the renowned Blue Note label. Loueke became best known for his contributions to albums and performances by Herbie Hancock. On Karibu he is assisted by his regular accompanists Ferenc Nemeth on drums and Massimo Biolcati on bass. Master Hancock is also present on three songs, as is Wayne Shorter. The latter takes
… Coltrane's beautiful ballad Naima to a very abstract level with lots of hard and high hits on his soprano sax. Loueke himself often looks for the high end by singing many of his solos in a falsetto voice. Because of these vocals and the African influence in many songs, the music is reminiscent of that of Richard Bona. Like Bona, Loueke is a virtuoso on his instrument. Influences from jazz guitarists (from Wes Montgomery to Pat Metheny) are audible and sometimes he even makes his (acoustic) guitar sound like a West African kora. Unfortunately, the successful mix of jazz with African music on Karibu is occasionally a bit restless due to a high level of fiddling. (HB)more
