Global Hit: Lionel Loueke

WERMAN: Do the Beninois know what it means to have a debut release on Blue Note records?

LOUEKE: No, they don’t (laughs). For example I was talking to my dad and I said, “Hey I’m playing with Herbie Hancock.” And he said, “Herbie, who? I don’t know him.” And I said, “What jazz musician do you know?” And he said, “Oh, maybe Miles Davis.” I said, “Well, Herbie’s played with Miles.” And he said, “Oh, he must be good.”

WERMAN: Herbie Hancock is like a mentor toward you and I read a quote of his. He said, “i’d never heard any guitar player play anything close to what I was hearing from you…there was no territory that was forbidden and he was fearless.”

LOUEKE: I’m naturally fearless from the beginning. Just in life in general I’m not afraid to try new things. I always believe by trying that’s how you discover new things.