Show Notes
Born in the French-speaking West African country of Benin in 1973,
Loueke initially started out singing and playing percussion as a child. At age 17, he picked up the guitar after receiving lessons from his older brother. Along with West African musical traditions, he developed a love of jazz after discovering the music of
George Benson. Upon graduating high school, he studied at both the Ivory Coast's National Institute of Arts and Paris' American School of More Than Music before immigrating to the United States, where he attended Boston's Berklee College of Music on scholarship.
Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of California Los Angeles, and in the process caught the attention of judges
Herbie Hancock,
Terence Blanchard, and
Wayne Shorter. In 2002, he joined
Blanchard's band, recording with the trumpeter on 2003's
Bounce and 2005's
Flow. A series of similarly high-profile recordings followed, including appearances on
Haden's
Land of the Sun,
Hancock's
Possibilities, and drummer
Scott's
The Source. In 2007, he gained even further recognition after contributing to
Hancock's
River: The Joni Letters, which took home both Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Jazz Album prizes at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
In 2008, Louekesigned with Blue Note for a series of well-received albums, including 2008's
Karibu, 2010's
Mwaliko, and 2012's
Robert Glasper-produced
Heritage. For his fourth Blue Note album, 2015's Gaïa,
Loueke exclusively showcased his electric guitar skills, exploring an expansive blend of African rock and jazz alongside
Gilfema bandmates
Biolcati and
Nemeth. The following year, he joined bassist
Dave Holland, saxophonist
Chris Potter, and drummer
Eric Harland in the fusion group
Aziza. He also jumped on board
the Blue Note All-Stars' 2017 album,
Our Point of View, and contributed to works by
Chick Corea,
Luboš Soukup, and
Kristóf Bacsó. In 2018, he returned to his solo output with
The Journey, which featured collaborations with
Pino Palladino,
Cyro Baptista,
Etienne Charles, and others.
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