How are Gilfema and the Lionel Loueke Trio different entities?
We use Gilfema when we play music from everyone. When we play the Lionel Loueke Trio, it’s only my music, or maybe I play their tunes, but I’m the one calling the tunes. Herbie is not keeping me busy this year, so I have more free time to do my own thing. Basically, from March to May, we’ll be touring—all of March in Europe—as the Lionel Loueke Trio. I can’t pinpoint this assertion, but Karibu seems more layered than your previous recording. Of course, having Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter on it doesn’t hurt. But it’s not just them. I always like to take different directions. It all depends on the moment, what I’m working-on, or how I feel connected to the music. Karibu definitely is different than Virgin Forest. Virgin Forest was a more produced record. I recorded some tracks with musicians in Africa, and even overdubbed some of the stuff. But Karibu is all played in a live context. The idea was for me to have the CD sound pretty much the way I play on stage. Just the organic part o
