13 Facts About Lionel Loueke

Lionel Loueke was born on 27 April 1973 and is a guitarist and vocalist born in Benin.

Lionel Loueke moved to Ivory Coast in 1990 to study at the National Institute of Art.

Lionel Loueke began playing percussion instruments around the age of 9 but was influenced by an older brother who played guitar, which he began playing himself when he was seventeen.

Lionel Loueke listened to guitarists George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, and Wes Montgomery.

Lionel Loueke studied at the National Institute of Art in Ivory Coast, the American School of Music in Paris from 1994 to 1998, Berklee College of Music from 1999 to 2001, and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz from 2001 to 2003.

Lionel Loueke played African pop music, but he discovered jazz when a friend returned from Paris with a copy of an album by George Benson.

Lionel Loueke auditioned for the, then, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of California Los Angeles.

Lionel Loueke was selected in a worldwide search by a panel of judges, including jazz musicians Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, and Wayne Shorter.

Lionel Loueke has worked with Avishai Cohen, Charlie Haden, Angelique Kidjo, Francisco Mela, Gretchen Parlato, Kendrick Scott, Alison Wedding, Brian Blade, Terri Lyne Carrington, Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kenwood Dennard, Nathan East, Kenny Garrett, Michael Eckroth, George Garzone, Roy Hargrove, Magos Herrera, Bob Hurst, Alphonso Johnson, Marcus Miller, John Patitucci, Dianne Reeves, Santana, Sting, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and Cassandra Wilson.

Lionel Loueke belongs to the trio Gilfema with Massimo Biolcati and Ferenc Nemeth.

Lionel Loueke made his major-label debut in 2008 when Blue Note released his album Karibu.

Lionel Loueke's album Mwaliko is a collection of duo and trio performances that combines traditional West African music with jazz.

Lionel Loueke doesn't speak Xhosa, and the singing is akin to scatting, having no linguistic meaning.