Lionel Loueke

Born in Benin, a small country of West Africa, Lionel Loueke first picked up percussion instruments before choosing guitar at the age of 17.

In 1990, he moved to Ivory Coast for a general musical training in the "National Institute of Art" which lasted four years. Listening to eminent jazz musicians like Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, George Benson, he knew that he needed to improve his playing. The next step would be to enroll in a renowned jazz school. In 1994, he was accepted at the "American School of Modern Music" in Paris (France) where he got his Diploma in 1998.

The dream was coming true. In 1999, he was awarded a scholarship to "Berklee College of Music" in Boston, Massachusetts. He quickly graduated in 2000 majoring in performance. In 2001, he auditioned for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, and was selected in a worldwide search by a panel of judges including jazz legends Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard and Wayne Shorter. He studied on this full scholarship at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. In 2002, Lionel became part of Terence Blanchard’s band. Soon after, the band released a CD titled “Bounce” under the label Blue Note.

He moved to New York after finishing the Monk program. When not on tour, he is active on the New York jazz scene playing with Richard Bona, Jeff Tain, Jeff Ballard... He also recorded with Charlie Haden and Herbie Hancock. Lionel studied with: Mick Goodrick, John Damiam, George Garzone, Russell Ferante, Joe Diorio, Carl Allen, Terence Blanchard, Dave Holland, Kenny Barron, Steve Turre, John Scofield, Louis Nash, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter...

AWARDS: First place winner of the 2002 Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship (FMJS) competition, 11th annual East Coast Jazz festival in Rockville, Maryland (February 2002) Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, Los Angeles, California (April 2001) Special citation for outstanding musicianship at the 27th annual IAJE international conference, New Orleans, Louisiana (January 2000) Dave Holland Award in recognition of outstanding musicianship (March 2000)

ENDORSMENTS: Lionel plays Yamaha and Godin guitars.