Lionel Loueke Trio
Comstock Hall, Louisville, KY USA
February 3, 2012

Source: Stage mics > DSBD > CD > XLD v. 20111214 (138.1) (extract in secure mode) > Auadcity v. 1.13.14b (edit & retrack) > XLD (encode to flac) > xAct v.2.15 (4931) (SBE fix)

Setlist:
Disc One
01. Skylark
02. Griot
03. Seven Teens

Disc Two
01. Bass Solo
02. Vivi
03. Guitar Solo
04. Unknown
05. Unknown

Personnel:
Lionel Loueke - guitar, vocals
Massimo Biolcati - double bass
Ferenc Nemeth - drums & percussion

Notes:
A spectacular fun performance from a cutting edge fusion group. Hopefully you have a subwoofer to fully enjoy Biolacti's impressive chops.

This recording has a very high dynamic range and low floor noise, be cautious setting volume. Its a really great recording to hear from end to end at a normal listening volume, you'll feel like your front row.

Thanks to DaD member RandyBayers for posting photo of trio and track listing.

Edits:
1. Added tracks d2t2 and d2t4.
2. Reduced audience applause by -10dB.

Bios:
Source: http://www.lionelloueke.com/
LIONEL LOUEKE is originally from the small West African nation of Benin, he has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past several years. In 2008 and 2009, he was picked as top Rising Star guitarist in Down Beat magazine's annual Critics Poll. His sophomore release for Blue Note, Mwaliko, follows up 2007's acclaimed Karibu with a series of searching, innovative, intimate duets with Angelique Kidjo, Esperanza Spalding, Richard Bona and Marcus Gilmore. Loueke also includes three new tracks featuring his longtime trio with Massimo Biolcati on bass and Ferenc Nemeth on drums.

Praised by his mentor Herbie Hancock as "a musical painter," Loueke combines harmonic sophistication, soaring melody, a deep knowledge of African music, and conventional and extended guitar techniques to create a warm and evocative sound of his own. JazzTimes wrote "Loueke's lines are smartly formed and deftly executed. His ear-friendly melodicism draws both from traditional African sources and a lifetime of closely studying the likes of Jim Hall and George Benson, and his rhythmic shifts come quickly and packed with surprises."

Karibu, featuring the trio with Hancock and Wayne Shorter as special guests, won widespread critical praise. TIME called the album "a jamboree of sprung rhythms, splashed with African and Brazilian flavors, in which Loueke scat-sings, drums on his guitar, mouth-clicks and plays some wicked jazz." The New York Times declared Loueke "a startlingly original voice… a spellbinding presence…one of the most striking jazz artists to emerge is some time."

In addition to Loueke's recordings as a leader and with his collaborative trio project Gilfema, Loueke has appeared on numerous standout recordings such as Terence Blanchard's Grammy-nominated Flow (2005) and Hancock's Grammy-winning River: The Joni Letters (2008). He has also toured the world as a member of Hancock's band and appeared on recordings by such fellow rising stars as trumpeter Avishai Cohen, drummers Francisco Mela and Kendrick Scott, vocalist Gretchen Parlato and more. These experiences all inform Loueke's extraordinary work as a leader.

Mwaliko (pronounced mwah-LEE-koh) is Swahili for "invitation," and as Loueke explains, "you can see the title two ways. One is I'm inviting my friends and fellow musicians to make these duo recordings, and the other is an invitation to all listeners to enjoy the music. What I wanted to do was more of a duo recording with different people, but I also needed the sound of the trio, because those guys are really at the center of my music." Mwaliko is also buoyed by Loueke's inspired mix of acoustic and electric sound: vocals with layered harmonizer effects, nylon-string guitar with Whammy pedal to create an organ-like sound during solos, and a new custom-made Rolf Spuller guitar that enables him to access low bass tones, filling out the spectrum of sound even in sparse duo contexts.

Having appeared on vocalist Angelique Kidjo's 2007 album Djin Djin, Lionel wanted to reciprocate and feature his good friend and fellow Benin native on a pair of African songs dear to both their hearts. "We're from the same place and we've known each other for so long," Lionel says of Kidjo. "She's got a great sense of rhythm and an incredible voice. It came out in the most natural way, no overdubs or anything like that. We both grew up listening to ‘Amio,' it's a standard in Africa, from Cameroon. And ‘Vi Ma Yon' is a traditional song from Benin, nobody knows who wrote it. It's a song about how important it is to have kids, that basically if you have a lot of kids, you're rich — which I don't agree with today!"

Much like Loueke, Richard Bona came from Africa (Cameroon) to take the jazz world by storm, turning heads with his virtuosity on electric bass and vocals. "I've known Richard for a while now," says Loueke, "and he's definitely one of the greatest musicians on the continent. The collaboration worked well because we had a few duo gigs before, and the gigs were great. I wanted to capture those moments." Bona's lilting, angelic voice is immediately identifiable on "Wishes," which Loueke wrote with his friend very much in mind. "‘Wishes' has a classical element," Loueke adds. "Classical music is a big influence for me, and this really shows it, but of course I'm not a classical player, so I wanted to feature Richard's voice on some of the parts. And I love the way he plays fretless bass." About "Hide Life," the second duet with Bona, which closes the album, Loueke muses: "It's a song that says sometimes it's better to fight with a smile. It's a happy song. Sometimes you also have to hide yourself to be happy."

Another fine bassist/vocalist, Esperanza Spalding, joins Loueke for two tracks as well. "I also played a few gigs with her before, but never duo," Loueke says. "I wanted to do this because she has such a strong personality and she's one of the new voices of today." Spalding puts her stamp on Loueke's "Twins," which appeared in a more orchestrated form on the album Gilfema + 2. Reworking the rich clarinet voicings of the earlier version, Loueke and Spalding create a vocal tapestry that's sparse and yet somehow overflowing, full of color and spirit. "We're both singing and playing at the same time, so with Esperanza too there are no overdubs. She'll sing a line and play a different bass line, which is very hard to do. It came out exactly the way I was hearing. ‘Flying,' too, is a new song that I definitely wanted to do with her, with those high notes and that groove."

With young drumming sensation Marcus Gilmore, Loueke turns his attention to Wayne Shorter's "Nefertiti." Gilmore, the grandson of the legendary Roy Haynes, is a member of bands led by Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Vijay Iyer, and is steadily making his way as a leader. "I've seen Marcus play and I just loved the sound and feel he got from the instrument. Suddenly he's everywhere, for a reason — such a strong maturity at such a young age. The first time I played with him was in the studio, on this track, ‘Nefertiti,' which was a first take. When we finished I said, ‘Ok that's it, go home.' There's nothing else to do when it's right!"

The three trio tracks on Mwaliko teem with "capricious harmonic movement and serpentine grooves," as The New York Times critic Nate Chinen described a recent trio performance, adding that theirs is "music of engrossing intimacy and ambition." Loueke's "Griot" highlights his richly harmonized vocals and slides easily between the rhythmic vernaculars of Afropop, Brazilian jazz and driving swing.

Loueke also makes a point of including original pieces by his band mates. Biolcati's upbeat "Shazoo" builds on the promising compositional voice showcased by the bassist on his 2008 leader debut Persona (featuring Loueke, naturally). Nemeth's "L.L.," written specifically for Loueke, first appeared on the drummer's 2007 leader debut Night Songs (also featuring Loueke). Here, Loueke recasts the introduction with a subtle octave-bass effect enabled — a sound heard in many spots on Mwaliko.

After his initial to exposure to jazz in Benin, Loueke left to attend the National Institute of Art in nearby Ivory Coast. In 1994 he left Africa to pursue jazz studies at the American School of Modern Music in Paris, then came to the U.S. on a scholarship to Berklee College of Music. It was at Berklee that he first met Biolcati and Nemeth. Through jam sessions, the trio developed an immediate rapport, in part fueled by internationalism. Biolcati is of Italian decent, but grew up in Sweden, while Nemeth was born and raised in Hungary. Both had extensively studied African music and were drawn to Loueke who was just beginning to fuse a Jazz technique with his African roots.

After graduating from Berklee, Loueke was accepted to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in Los Angeles—along with Biolcati and Nemeth—where he had the opportunity to study his greatest mentors: Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Terence Blanchard. "I flipped," says Hancock, recalling the moment he first heard Loueke's audition tape. "I'd never heard any guitar player play anything close to what I was hearing from him. There was no territory that was forbidden, and he was fearless!"

Soon after his time at the Monk Institute, Loueke began focusing exclusively on nylon-string acoustic guitar, an instrument on which he's developed a signature voice. "I feel more connected to the warmth of the nylon-string sound, even if the sound is not completely acoustic," he says. Indeed, as Loueke's sound grows more uniquely involved, not purely acoustic it still retains those qualities of immediacy, tenderness and passion that have made Loueke an influential force on the world stage, in jazz and beyond.

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Source: http://www.massimobiolcati.com/bio.html
MASSIMO BIOLCATI, born 1972 in Stockholm, grew up in both Sweden and Italy. He began his musical career at age 16, performing jazz on acoustic bass in Torino, Italy. For five years he studied both classical and jazz bass while performing at area festivals and clubs. At age 21, Massimo returned to Sweden to study at the Royal Music Academy of Stockholm. He soon became a presence on the local jazz scene, appearing with an array of musicians at the city's most important jazz clubs and festivals. He also played with several Scandinavian folk music groups.

At age 23, Massimo received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and moved to Boston. There he performed and recorded with some of the best jazz musicians in town including such masters as George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi, Mick Goodrick and Bob Moses.

After five years in Boston, Massimo was selected for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of Southern California where he recieved his Master's Degree in Music and got the chance to study and perform with Jazz giants such as Dave Holland, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, John Scofield, Christian McBride, Lewis Nash, Mark Turner and many others.

After finishing the Thelonious Monk Institute, he moved to New York City where he quickly joined the NY music scene and started to play with his peers in addition to estabished masters such as Terence Blanchard, Paquito D’Rivera and Ravi Coltrane among others.

Currently Massimo shares his time between touring the world and being in New York where he regularly performs and records

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Source: http://www.ferencnemeth.com/music/bio/
FERENC NEMETH is an accomplished and versatile musician who continues to push the boundaries of jazz drumming and composition. Nemeth has since the early days of his career, been one of the most sought after drummers both, in his native Hungary as well as in the United States. Coming from a musical family, his unique dynamism and versatility was fostered from a very early age. An exciting performer and imaginative collaborator, Nemeth is well regarded for his work with the Lionel Loueke Trio and GilFeMa and has also travelled, performed and collaborated extensively as a bandleader, co-leader, sideman and educator as well as initiating creative projects of his own.

From his early days at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Thelonius Monk Insitute of Jazz in Los Angeles, Nemeth has learned from and worked with the world’s finest jazz musicians and groups including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Terence Blanchard, the Billy Childs Trio, Bob Sheppard, Dave Carpenter, John Clayton, Jimmy Heath, The Henry Mancini Orchestra amongst others. Relocating to New York in 2003, Nemeth’s distinctive energy and drive saw his career continuing with many of the same musicians, and also expanding to include the likes of Christian McBride, John Patitucci, Lionel Loueke, John Abercrombie, Dave Samuels, Mark Turner, Hal Crook, David Benoit, Bud Shank, Greg Hopkins, Phil Wilson, Dave Grusin, Eddie Daniels, Eddie Henderson, Ron McClure, Chris Cheek, Aaron Goldberg, Kenny Wheeler, Eli Degibri, Jonathan Kreisberg, John Ellis, Omer Avital and most recently Ilayaraja.

Many of his collaborations have become long-standing partnerships spanning over a decade. 2003 was also the start of Nemeth’s involvement with GilFeMa, a trio also featuring Lionel Loueke and Massimo Biolcati. The trio, who had been playing together since the Berklee days continued their creative efforts in this format with all three contributing compositions to the 2004 album, eponymously titled, GilFeMa (ObliqSound). Notwithstanding, college fraternity and friendship, Nemeth’s natural great range coupled with his dynamism, complexity and improvisation makes him a perfect partner in the Loueke-Biolcati-Nemeth cooperative. His contribution here as well as with other collaborations is evidence of his great versatility, which informs a unique musical personality. His expertise and vast knowledge beyond traditional jazz, has also seen him move effortlessly through contemporary jazz as well as pop, rock, electro-pop, hip hop and increasingly into ethnic and culturally diverse disciplines.

Beyond the extensive repertoire of performance and recording, Nemeth has also established his own label, Dreamer’s Collective Records and in 2007, released his debut album of original compositions, Night Songs to much accolade and features such luminaries as John Patitucci, Chris Cheek, Mark Turner, Lionel Loueke and Aaron Parks. Displaying sophistication and self-assurance, the recording has established Nemeth as a composer and arranger in his own right. A second project for the label, due for release in the spring of 2012, sees Joshua Redman, Kenny Werner, Lionel Loueke as contributors, as well as a small wind orchestra. A side project for the last couple of years, the Ferenc Nemeth Onion Project, sees Nemeth venturing into the world of rock with Hungarian musicians.

An ever-present thirst for exploration and experimentation has seen Nemeth travel widely and play with musicians from a variety of backgrounds and countries. This occupation in turn, has also resulted in Nemeth’s regular participation in workshops and teaching programs in the United States and internationally, the most recent being stints at the University of Siena and the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in India.