The Vampires - Meet Lionel Loueke

"First-time collaborations rarely sound as convincing and natural as this one did.” The Age

“A distinctive gumbo that was more eminently accessible, grooved harder and created a bigger sound than might have seemed possible.” - John Kelman, All About Jazz

"The Vampires play with wit, soulful melody and invention" – SMH

“Each member is an expert soloist” - The Advertiser

“Excite, provoke and soothe.” Sun Herald Sun

The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke is the fifth album from Australian quartet The Vampires, augmented by special guests and the extraordinary Blue Note Records guitarist Lionel Loueke. The music on the album is the result of years of musical development and ambitious preparation, as the band set out to make their fifth album something different to the past four; South Coasting, Chellowdene, Garfish and Tiro.

The band brought Lionel to Australia to tour and record, playing new music written for the project. Lloyd Swanton, well known as the bassist from The Necks, produced the album. Lionel has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the jazz world, collaborating with seminal jazz figures including Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding and Herbie Hancock, who praised him as “a musical painter”. The Vampires’ co-leader and saxophonist Jeremy Rose says “Lionel effortlessly joined The Vampires, normally a chordless quartet, for this project with humility and a way of collaborating that allowed his own influence and character to come through while perfectly fitting in as a member of the band.”

The Vampires have been relentlessly touring for the past 10 years throughout Australia, as well as performances in the UK, Canada and Europe. Combining risk-taking improvisation, sophisticated compositions and an uncanny sense of dialogue between the sax/trumpet frontline, the band has developed a style of its own. This collaboration with Lionel Loueke is both an honour for the band, to be working with one of the most distinctive artists of his generation, and a perfectly normal and logical part of The Vampires’ work.

The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke features music composed by Jeremy Rose and Nick Garbett for this collaboration. Each has written about half of the band’s music for the past 10 years, and their compositional styles have forged the band’s sound as much as their playing has.

Jeremy Rose - alto & tenor sax, bass clarinet Nick Garbett - trumpet Lionel Loueke - guitar and vocals Jonathan Zwartz - double bass Danny Fischer - drums (all tracks except 3 & 5) Alex Masso - drums (tracks 3 & 5), cajon, bongos, pandeiro, wood block, cowbells, shakers