Guitarist/vocalist Leni Stern gives us more reason to celebrate immigration and the power of multi-cultural music. For the past decade-plus Stern, hailed as one of the world’s top guitarists (her guitarist husband, Mike Stern, isn’t shabby either), has fused a contemporary jazz approach with West African folkloric elements. She has traveled and studied in Mali and Senegal, performing with the likes of iconic singer-songwriter Salif Keita and other African notables. The Munich-born New Yorker’s transatlantic journeys have yielded a fresh, personal idiom. Leni’s trio of bassist Mamadou Ba and percussionist Alioune Faye, both natives of Senegal – released the albums 3 in 2018 and Jelell in 2013, along with figuring into the expansive cast of her Dakar Suite of 2016. So, “4” represents both the fourth time they have worked together and the addition of Argentinian keyboardist Leo Genovese, a highly regarded talent on the New York scene as both a leader and as a collaborator with the likes of Esperanza Spalding and Jack DeJohnette.
Genovese adds improvisational spark and hints of South American lyricism further spice the multi-cultural stew. There are five new compositions by Leni (including the beautiful, lullaby-like gem “Chartwell”), two by Genovese (the standout acoustic piano-driven “Japalema” and one by Ba (“Habib,” which includes a guest solo from Mike Stern). Ever adventurous, this album, her 22nd album since 1986, is filled with melody, grooves, animated voices, provocative interplay and ultimately, a joyous feeling.Leni plays not only guitar on the record but also the n’goni, a banjo-like West African string instrument. “I often imitate the sound of the n’goni on my guitar, too – the guitar being such a chameleonic instrument,” Leni explains. “I’ve always been drawn to the sound of the n’goni, as well as to the kora, the harp-like West African instrument. I love the warm, plucking quality to their untempered sound and the gently driving rhythm they can provide. Originally, it was the pentatonic melodies in West African music that I fell for – they called out to me. And they really stick in your ear.”
Having grown up in Germany with a classical background, (she titled the second track “Amadeus”) Leni also builds more harmonic movement into her music here along with West African and South American Rhythms. If that’s not enough, there’s some Indian music too, tracing to Leni’s trip to India in 2001, inspired by John Mclaughlin’s love of Indian vocal music. She feels that this gives her guitar a more liquid, vocal quality. You’ll also hear the call-and-response common to African music and American blues (heard on “Habib” especially in husband’s solo).
This tightly knit rhythm section delivers, according to Leni, a stark and highly syncopated feel which is difficult for many musicians to tap into it. Ba also has a unique electric bass sound that reflects traditional West African instruments like the n’goni. The two also play in a rock band so their choruses reflect that, with lyrics in the Wolof and Serer languages on this album.
Speaking of which, you could access five of these eight tracks as singles – “Chartwell,” “Amadeus,” “Japalema,” “Habib,” and “Zamba 264.” She wants us to hear this uplifting music during these stay-at-home times, saying, “But this time can also enable us to take a break from the world, to have the time and space to delve into things and reflect. As we listen inside their homes, recordings can be vital for that. Music is such a source of beauty and strength for people all around the world. I would love for our new album to be a part of that.”
Together with Genovese on piano and synths along with Leni’s string work, this is unlike almost anything else you’ll hear. There’s jazz fusion, sweeping cinematic passages, contemplative, exploratory calming blends of jazz and world, along with vocals, some wordless, some in other languages. Check out the final cut, “Zamba 264” and you’ll hear all those aspects.
Although this writer covered husband Mike’s 2019 collaboration with Jeff Lorber, Eleven, it appears that Leni Stern’s work has not been covered previously on these pages. So, some background seems appropriate. Leni, along with Mike, helped foment the vibrant scene at the Greenwich Village club 55 Bar back in the early 1980s. Her debut album as a leader, Clairvoyant (Passport, 1986), featured her alongside two jazz icons, guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Paul Motian. As mentioned previously she has an extensive discography that readers are welcome to search but her forays into African music began when she first performed at Mali’s Festival in the Desert in 2006. Leni appeared in the 2013 documentary about the festival, Last Song Before the War. She has played with Salif Keita and his band on multiple occasions, including when he pulled her onstage to play a solo during his Celebrate Brooklyn! concert in 2008. Two years later, she performed at Carnegie Hall with her original African mentors: Bassekou Kouyate and Ami Sacko. Leni played the U.S. Cultural Ambassador tour of Nicaragua in 2014, and she was artist-in-residence at Nepal’s Jazzmandu: The Kathmandu Jazz Festival in 2015.