Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke: Lean In
Edition Records
Couple the irresistibly appealing voice of Gretchen Parlato with the guitar and voice percussion artistry of Lionel Loueke and the result is the exquisite Lean In. While it's the first time the two have recorded an album together, their connection began in 2001 at The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of California. In the years since, their paths have crossed, sometimes in the form of duo concerts and other times as guests within larger ensembles. The forty-five-minute release includes key contributions from bassist Burniss Travis and drummer Mark Guiliana, but Lean In is fundamentally a duo project that flatters the individual and combined talents of its lead partners.
Lean In is rooted, naturally, in the allure of Parlato's sensual delivery and the distinctive guitar and vocal techniques Loueke's refined over the years. In augmenting his stellar guitar attack with hushed vocal textures and mouth-generated percussion, the Benin artist's carved out a singular place within the jazz community. The album veers between pop, funk, R&B, Afrobeat, and Brazilian music with the kind of breezy authority that comes from years of playing. With songs performed in English, Portuguese, and Fon, the act of transcending genre pigeonholing comes easily to these collaborators. Lean In originated remotely with the two sharing ideas from separate residences, but within months they were ensconced in an LA studio, fleshing out the tunes and adding guest contributions as needed. The album material might have been developed, written, and recorded under the oppressive cloud of the global pandemic, but the tone is that of freedom and liberation.
There's no better selling-point for the release than its first three songs, with the exuberant opener “Akwê” instantly captivating for its arresting syncopated rhythms and infectious melodies. The material swings from the first moment as the two sing deliciously in unison, the groove funky and the music joyous. Here and in the songs that follow, Parlato's lustrous voice blends seamlessly with Loueke's voice, percussive pops and clicks, and guitar sparkle. Shifting gears, the second song offers an inspired makeover of Klymaxx's 1984 hit “I Miss You,” Parlato's sensuous voice and Loueke's rhythmic accompaniment the treatment's primary attractions. With Travis and Guiliana on hand to elevate the rhythmic intensity, “If I Knew” captivates for its rolling Afrobeat-funk pulse and the slinkiness of its vocal melodies.
If nothing that follows quite reaches the dizzying high of that opening trio, the remainder is solid nonetheless. Written by Carlos Pingarilho and Marcos Vasconcellos, “Astronauta” relocates the musicians to a Brazilian shore, the feel languorous and a tad sun-dazed. “Nonvignon,” which translates as "Good Brother” (the African name given to Loueke), tickles the ear with staggered vocals and rhythmic swagger. Woven into the release are three interludes, “Okagbé,” “Mi Wa Sé,” and “Dou Wé,” that serve as enticingly atmospheric rest stops. “Mi Wa Sé” includes vocal contributions from Parlato and Guiliana's young son, Marley, and, in working the bassist and drummer into its percolating fabric, “Dou Wé” makes a compelling impression, despite lasting but a minute. One final surprise arrives in the form of “Walking After You,” the duo's cover of a Dave Grohl song from Foo Fighters' 1997 release, The Colour and the Shape. True to form, the artistic personalities of Parlato and Loueke are so strong, the song ends up sounding like one of their creations more than a fresh update of another's.May 2023