His audition in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz left all-star judges Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Terence Blanchard flabbergasted. Lionel Loueke would go on to play on albums by the latter two, who would later return the favour on his own 2008 album Karibu. The wonderful Benin guitarist, who appeared at the Montreal Guitar Show in 2007, has a unique facility for melding gentle songs from the African tradition with technical skill from the most contemporary jazz!
