Guitarist Lionel Loueke’s latest release M’Waliko, is a true sonic journey. Combining his percussive finger-style playing, mouth clicks and vocalizing, Loueke makes music that is somewhere between his native African country Benin and street corners of New York City, where he currently resides. He’s joined in this effort by Esperanza Spalding who plays bass ands vocals on a couple of tracks, likewise bassist Richard Bona. Vocalist Angelique Kidjo, who comes from the same village where Loueke was born, also performs on two tracks. The guitarist’s virtuosity and creative musical license make this a recording definitely worth hearing.