Lionel Loueke has been ubiquitous over the past several years, logging recording and touring experience with Terence Blanchard (Flow and Bounce), Avishai Cohen (The Big Rain), Angelique Kidjo (Djinn), Herbie Hancock (Possibilities and River: The Joni Letters), and Charlie Haden (Land of the Sun). His first Blue Note release as a leader (Loueke has two independently produced albums available) is entitled Karibu, and it presents a worthy introduction to this entirely unique talent. Loueke has absorbed much of the language of jazz guitar, from Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery to Pat Matheny and Bill Laswell. Loueke has his own artistic voice, though, and it is marked by the rhythmic bounce of African music, much of which (such as Nigerian High Life and Juju music) is guitar-centric. He uses odd meters not as an exercise, but rather because the musical phrasing demands some extra room. This makes his music, for all its sophistication, still able to connect with the listener on a visceral level.

“Karibu,” the opening number is quintessentially Loueke. The rhythm is bouncy and feels straight ahead, but a careful listen reveals rhythmic intricacies beneath the surface. Loueke uses his voice and tongue as instruments, providing rhythmic clicks and vocals that do much to give the piece a unique flavor. The overtracked vocals with some kind of effect sound a lot like some of Joe Zawinul’s world music outings with vocoder. It’s this rare balance between the music of another culture, the trio’s sensitivity to each other’s playing grounded in jazz, and modern musical styles that gives Karibu (the album) so much of its charm. “Seven Teens” brings Herbie Hancock on board for a piece in the unusual time signature of 17/4, yet despite that fact it never sounds forced or difficult. The trio keeps the beat effortlessly, and a lot of the time the tune seems to gravitate towards a free jazz feel, even though the bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth subtly keep a pulse going throughout.

Hancock returns, along with saxophonist Wayne Shorter, on the tune “Light Dark,” study in contrasts that manages to seem both structure and free, recalling the very first recordings and concerts by Weather Report where ‘everyone solos, no one solos.’ The interplay between Loueke, Hancock, Shorter, and the rhythm section is extraordinary and keeps the listner’s interest throughout its ten minute running time. Shorter (without Hancock) is also on board for a really good version of Coltrane’s “Naima.” Louke uses his guitar to create a variety of percussive and ringing sounds as an introduction until Biolcati’s bass drops in with an ostinato half time figure, setting up Shorter’s reworking of the tune and subsequent soloing. It’s a great performance that makes it clear that while Loueke can play standard jazz repertoire, he in no way feels constrained to do it in a mainstream way. He stays closer to home with Hoagy Carmicheal’s “Skylark,” but while he does the gorgeous melody proud, he dresses it up with vocal work accompanying his guitar lines, and the liquid groove that is established between Biolcati and Nemeth makes the piece seem to float along like a fluffy cloud in a clear blue sky.

The last two pieces on the disc demonstrate what a tight group Loueke’s trio is. “Agbannon Blues” is not a standard blues, nor is it standard time, but Nemeth creates a groove that might have you thinking it is. Actually, this piece recalled the Gateway Trio’s best work (“How’s Never,” for example) if Abercrombie had stuck to acoustic guitar with that group. “Nonvignon” is based on an African folk song, and features Loueke doing vocals, guitar, and percussive tongue clicking while his fellow musicians create a light, bouncing atmosphere. “Nonvignon” is a perfect companion piece to the opening title track, emphasizing as it does the African influence in Loueke’s music. Karibu is an outstanding release that not only represents Loueke’s unique talents well, but also demonstrates that his working trio is a dazzling group. It should be a pleasure to hear whatever they choose to do next.