Two guitarists. Two different musical worlds. What sound will they bring to their UK show?
Raul Midon and Lionel Loueke
7:30 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall, 405 Rose St. $18 public, free in advance to University of Kentucky students. 859-257-4929. finearts.uky.edu/singletary-center, raulmidon.com, lionelloueke.com.
The music Raul Midon and Lionel Loueke have pursued on their own might suggest the two guitarists grew up in vastly different worlds, which, in large measure, they did.
Midon hails from New Mexico, earned an international following while working in New York and now lives in Maryland. Though his music embraces jazz and soul, it is largely genre-free. It has led him from early session work as a vocalist for the likes of Shakira to albums of his own that featured guests like pop stylist Jason Mraz to songwriting work for filmmaker Spike Lee.
Loueke is a native of the West African republic of Benin and has gained a global audience by meshing the sounds of his homeland with the sensibilities of American jazz. The lengthy roster of artists he has recorded for includes the late jazz bassist/composer Charlie Haden and world music star Angelique Kidjo.
So what joins these worlds when the collaborative and ensemble settings are removed, leaving Midon and Loueke to find a common musical ground onstage with just two guitars?
For the Grammy nominated Midon, who performs a duo concert with Loueke on Saturday at the Singletary Center for the Arts, it boils to one key essential.
“Rhythm,” he said, “Even though I’m from here and he’s from there, that’s part of what unites us. We’re both really fascinated by rhythm. We’re both interested in learning from each other all the time. My African influence comes from a lot of Latin music, but the rhythmic emphasis, the rhythmic variations and the variety comes from the same root.
“There are some people who grew up in a certain tradition, whether it’s blues or jazz or rock, and they get formed by that tradition. Lionel and I, even though we are familiar with our traditions, never thought of ourselves as a particular kind of musician, really. I’ve been interested for a long time in songwriting, in jazz, in flamenco… just a lot of different things. That’s kind of the path that we’ve both followed. We have a lot of respect for the fact that we have forged our own sound and our own way of playing the guitar.”
Though Midon and Loueke have worked extensively with a host of pop and jazz luminaries, a major inspiration responsible for a vanguard album is shared. Both have collaborated with groundbreaking composer/keyboardist Herbie Hancock and were featured on his covers recording “Possibilities.” The work unexpectedly won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2006 beating out records by Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Foo Fighters and Vince Gill.
Midon contributed vocals and guitar to a “Possibilities” update of the Stevie Wonder hit “I Just Called to Say I Love You” that also included Wonder as a guest. Loueke, a member of Hancock’s touring band for over a decade, arranged and added guitar to Sting’s “Sister Moon,” which also featured help from the composer.
“Herbie is an open musician. He’s not trying to tell me exactly what to do. He understands that everybody brings their own thing to the music. Also, everybody brings a certain work ethic to the music so there doesn’t have to be a whole lot of super control. Herbie, coming from being a jazz musician and being in Miles (Davis)’ band, for example, along with the work he’s done with electronic music and his pioneering work with synthesizers, is such an innovator. Obviously, he works with Lionel because of Lionel’s unique approach to the music. I think that’s what Herbie is looking for more than the best chops or the biggest name or whatever.”
While Midon and Loueke tour frequently together, the two have never cut a purely collaborative recording of their own. Midon isn’t ruling out such a project for the future. For now, though, his focus is on a new solo album due out March 13 titled “The Mirror.” A mix of jazz, pop, world music inspiration and even spoken word pieces, the work has an impressive track record to follow. Midon’s last two albums, 2017’s “Bad Ass and Blind” (Midon has been blind since infancy) and 2018’s “If You Really Want” both earned Grammy nominations.
“Honestly, you can’t think about things like that. I can’t, anyway, when I’m creating a record. The way I work is I just work all the time. I feel to need to create.
“I’m not in any sort of situation where I have to ‘be this’ or ‘be that.’ At a certain point, when you’re younger, you have this idea that maybe you need to fit into a certain ‘play the game’ mode. I don’t really feel that. I just feel free to create music.”
Drew and Ellie Halcomb: ‘You and Me Tour’
It’s unusual to imagine a joint tour between a husband and wife songwriting team as a reunion, but that’s essentially what “The You and Me Tour” featuring Drew and Ellie Halcomb is.
The two were at the heart of an East Nashville Americana troupe called Drew Halcomb and the Neighbors. Ellie bowed out of the band in 2012 to become a full-time mom. Her return to making music, however, bypassed the Neighbors in favor of a solo career as a Christian song stylist. Drew rocked on with the Neighbors, visiting Lexington as recently as last summer for the inaugural Railbird festival.
Beginning in 2018, the Halcombs put their respective bands and careers on hold to hit the road for a series of acoustic concerts that became the first “You and Me Tour.”
The couple’s latest trek brings them to the Lexington Opera House, 401 W. Short on Feb. 26 (7:30 p.m.; $21-$82). For tickets, call 800-745-3000 or go to ticketmaster.com.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 2:37 PM.