Virgin Forest: A Beginner’s Guide to the Music of Lionel Loueke

Virgin Forest: A Beginner’s Guide to the Music of Lionel Loueke

I first discovered guitarist, percussionist and vocalist Lionel Loueke in a youtube video uploaded by Jazz Night in America. The video shows a performance by the ‘Blue Note All Star’ band Our Point of View (a play on the 1963 Herbie Hancock album My Point of View). I should explain for some context that I have an obsession with pianist Robert Glasper’s style of playing, so I frequently watch videos of his live performances. This obsession has been very educational for me, since in watching his performances I invariably end up discovering bandmates of his who are equally impressive musicians themselves, and as a result I gain a better understanding of the current landscape of jazz talent. Yes, I clicked on the Our Point of View performance to see Glasper play, but as usual, I came away with a new musician to google, follow and subsequently obsess over.

Our Point of View is comprised of Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire, Marcus Strickland, Lionel Loueke, Derrick Hodge and Kendrick Scott. The band’s 2015 performance (in the video linked below) at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge includes six songs, one composed by each member of the band. The band members are a selection of Blue Note’s best current talent, and have been hailed as some of the leading jazz musicians of their generation. When I first discovered the video I was familiar with all of the members of the band except for the guitarist, Lionel Loueke. I expected to see exceptional playing when I clicked the video, but I was not prepared for what Lionel Loueke brought to the performance. While all of the band members performed flawlessly, Loueke truly shocked me with his unique and experimental approach to jazz guitar playing.

Loueke’s playing blends western jazz training, West African musical influences and experimental guitar techniques. During his solo in the Our Point of View Performance, Loueke slaps and finger drums along the strings of his electric guitar as he changes chords and manipulates pedals. Percussive effects and spacey synth-like sounds spill from Loueke’s guitar while he improvises melodically. Loueke also showcases his impressive vocal talents as he integrates West African singing, tongue clicking (?) and beatbox (?) techniques into his performance. The sounds coming from Loueke’s guitar and mouth are at once bluesy and psychedelic; spacey yet somehow old and earthy all at the same time. The sudden transition to this abstraction of jazz in the middle of a modern but otherwise fairly conservative jazz performance mesmerized me (and even Loueke’s bandmates, judging by the looks on their faces). Loueke’s exciting playing and unique energy forced me to seek out his music and learn more about him.

 

Skip to 37:28 to see Loueke's incredible solo at the start of 'Freedom Dance', a song composed by Loueke

Originally from Benin, Loueke spent his early adult years studying music in Paris and later at Berklee College of Music. Aside from his roots in Benin and his formal western musical training, Loueke lists BB King and Hendrix as some of his biggest musical influences.

Rock influences in particular permeate Loueke’s ecologically themed fourth Blue Note album Gaia (2015). The album was live recorded on front of a small studio audience and features a trio comprised of Loueke, bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth. The album’s tasteful mix of often distorted, hendrix-esque rock guitar along with West African percussion and traditional jazz elements led to its positive reception by critics. I may cover Gaia more comprehensively in a future article, but for now I will stick to discussing Loueke’s 2007 album Virgin Forest (released prior to him joining Blue Note in 2008). Virgin Forest was the first Loueke album I listened to, and in addition to being conceptually interesting (like all of his music admittedly), it is one of my favourite releases of his.

On Virgin Forest, Lionel Loueke teams up with a formidable band that features Herbie Hancock on piano, Gretchen Parlato on vocals, Cyro Baptista on percussion, Grégoire Maret playing harmonica, Massimo Biolcati on the bass and Ferenc Nemeth on drums and percussion. Several tracks also feature a West African percussion ensemble. Even before listening to the music, the personnel alone hint at how the music on the album sounds. On Virgin Forest, North American and European jazz traditions meet the distilled sounds of South America and Africa. The result is a lush, relaxed, and I dare say contemplative brand of world-music meets jazz.

African influences abound throughout the album, with West African rhythms and traditional percussion instruments featuring heavily in many of the tracks. Loueke also lends his vocals throughout the album, singing in the Fon and Mina languages which are native to Benin and Mali.

One of my favourite tracks on the album is entitled 'Le Reveille des Ageneux'. The slow, brooding track features strains of Hancock’s piano. Loueke’s subdued guitar plucks and melancholic vocals create an atmospheric backdrop. It is unclear whether Loueke is even uttering words on this track. His vocals sound like mere syllables, but they are powerful and evocative nonetheless. One does not have to understand the vocals to feel a sense of longing when listening to the piece.

The tracks on Virgin Forest bear African, French and English names, as though the album itself has a mixture of identities. African influences can be found throughout the album but Loueke also leaves space for more explicitly western elements, like Hancock’s piano and contemporary western percussion. Virgin Forest feels both traditional and cosmopolitan as it straddles musical styles as well as ethnic identities. This is mere speculation on my part, but the stylistic differences and combinations found throughout the tracks on the album may represent the complexities and contradictions in Loueke’s own personal identity, given the different cultures he has lived in and absorbed.

'Rossignol' is a bossa nova influenced track with a calm, oceanic feel to it. African percussion bounces reassuringly behind romantic vocals sung by Loueke and the wonderful Gretchen Parlato. One of my favourite female vocalists, Parlato appears on numerous tracks on the album. 'Rossignol' and its brand of bossa nova are typical of Loueke’s music in my opinion. 'Rossignol' is definitely bossa nova, but it also has an unpredictable air about it. It is fresh and exciting to listen to because it boldly incorporates Loueke’s own influences, energy and vision, rather than simply rehashing what has already been done with the musical style.

 

Herbie Hancock’s piano mingles with Loueke’s darting guitar once more in 'La Poursuite Du Lion'. Hancock’s playing is discordant and distinctly western. The music is uncertain both harmonically and rhythmically; the instruments stop and start as though waiting for one another to make the next move. Listening to the song, one imagines that the piano is a lion chasing the guitar. Towards the end of the song, the energy builds and the piano becomes less discordant, even taking on a bluesy feel. Loueke’s vocals join in near the end of the frantic chase, sounding almost like bird song. Loueke’s vocal-birds fly just out of reach of the other instruments. They watch the action and produce laughing, teasing melodies of their own in the air, safe at a distance. The changing styles of the piano and guitar seem to leave the listener with the question: is this a chase for blood, or is it simply a heated but playful game between wild creatures? Herbie Hancock has called Loueke “a musical painter”, and indeed, Loueke has created a scene from the wild out of sound. Listening, we could be in the plains of Africa, or perhaps even in the virgin forest…

On Virgin Forest, Loueke integrates and pays homage to diverse musical styles while expressing himself with striking originality. His music breaks free from traditional North American jazz so much that some might be hesitant to call it jazz. Perhaps the umbrella term of world music might be better suited to describing it. Loueke’s music certainly includes myriad influences from around the world, but I would argue that these are anchored down and made coherent by Loueke’s background in jazz. Loueke’s music is incredibly eclectic (Rock and other styles feature in his catalogue as well as African music), but he seems to use jazz as a frame within which to explore and unite other styles. It seems to me that Loueke seeks to bring world music to jazz, rather than to simply play world music with a touch of jazz.

By Matthew Douglas