Lionel Loueke, Reuben Rogers & Eric Harland - Close Your Eyes (2021) [Official Digital Download 24/88]

Lionel Loueke, one of the jazz world’s most searingly original and sought-after guitarists, has devoted the bulk of his output to original music. But Close Your Eyes, originally released on vinyl by Newvelle in 2018, found the Benin-born Loueke focusing entirely on standards and canonical jazz classics. Joined by the marquee rhythm section of bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland (known for their inspired teamwork in groups led by Charles Lloyd, Aaron Goldberg and more), Loueke applied his distinctive rhythmic and harmonic approach to material from the Great American Songbook as well as the oeuvre of jazz greats John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. Now, thanks to Sounderscore Records, an independent label founded by Loueke’s longtime Gilfema bandmate Massimo Biolcati, Close Your Eyes is being issued for the first time digitally.

Three additional songs not featured on the vinyl release — John Coltrane’s “Countdown,” Hoagy Carmichael’s “Skylark” and Thelonious Monk’s “We See” — are also now available for the first time on the Sounderscore reissue.

Tracklist:
1. Footprints (06:03)
2. It Might as Well Be Spring (06:41)
3. Countdown (04:16)
4. Moon River (04:15)
5. Solar (03:39)
6. Blue Monk (06:24)
7. Body and Soul (04:38)
8. Close Your Eyes (07:44)
9. Skylark (07:12)
10. We See (05:26)
11. Naima (03:35)


Thanks to the Original customer!