At the age of 17 Belgium saxophonist Nicolas Kummert gained
an affinity for African music from a two month stay in Senegal, where he
collaborated with local musicians and later from Benin, Mali, Kenya, Sao Tomé,
Morocco and Tunisia.The chance to meet
award-winning guitarist Lionel Loueke during a recording session for Beninese
singer Patrick Ruffino in 2008 began the respectful relationship and by 2015,
Kummert had asked Loueke to join his new band. Kummert has been prolific at
creating his continued discography.His
previous albums include Voices (2014); Flow (2015); and now in 2017, La
Diversité.
An admirable trait in Kummert’s playing is how he carefully
crafts compositions with winding saxophone lines that are cornerstone to his
success on La Diversité, banded by Loueke’s subtle note choices, which drive
the offering to a higher level of consciousness.That is not to say that Loueke is only
capable of understatement, quite the contrary as exhibited on “We’ll Be Alright,”
which explores a more boisterous elucidation.An antipodean deliverance on, “And What If We’re Not.” Features Loueke
seamlessly moving from electric to acoustic guitar, employing bell like
harmonics on “Le Vent Se Lève” and evoking dexterous finger picking on “Le
Peuple De L’Arc-En-Ciel.”
On “Gnossienne A Deux,” Kummert and Loueke reveal a
poignancy of their chemistry together as a duo, and certainly individually as
players.Two versions of Leonard Cohen’s
hit song “Hallelujah” (and an acoustic “Hallelujah Again”) might in the hands
of some sound more like redundancy, but played correspondingly by the quartet
and duo, they are emphasized by the characteristically delicate treatment
afforded the pieces. From the West African rhythmic feel of “Rainbow People” to
the languorous smoldering of “Diversity Over Purity” the resounding essential
point is a mesmerizing, innovative experience, abounding nuances and creative
ideas to keep the listener engaged throughout.
Track Listing: Rainbow People; Le Vent Se Lève; Harmattan;
Lighthouse; Hallelujah; Gnossienne; Gnossienne A Deux; Liberté; Le Peuple De
L'Arc-En-Ciel; La Terre Ne Ment Pas; Diversity Over Purity; We'll Be Alright;
And What If We're Not? Hallelujah Again - In Memory of Leonard Cohen.
Personnel: Nicolas Kummert: tenor saxophone; Lionel Loueke:
guitar; Nicolas Thys: double bass; Karl Jannuska: drums.
