On Bénin Rio Tokyo, Japanese vocalist Nobie takes us on a musical journey spanning West Africa, Brazil, and Tokyo with sparkling duo collaborations. This music is catchy and deep, with layers of voice and guitar infused with a spirit of love, respect, and masterful finesse. With an ideal selection of musical partners and songs, Nobie’s rhythmically thrilling and lush voice cascades through the music like water over rocks, beautifully soft and dynamic.

The first four tracks represent Benin with Nobie and guitarist Lionel Loueke playing African and Brazilian music with flair over slick, fun rhythms. Nobie’s gorgeous vocal and percussive sounds add layers to the music, counterpointed beautifully by the deeper voice of Loueke, playing confidently together with joyful ease.

The Rio portion features legendary guitarist Toninho Horta playing two of his originals with Nobie. “Beijo Partido” is a mysterious, flowing lament with Nobie’s soft voice gracefully soaring over harmonically-shifting fields, while “Samba For Rudi” is a quick-footed vocalese feature, delightfully effusive and acrobatic.

On the Tokyo section, Nobie performs an impressive acapella version of Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo a la Turk”, overdubbing her voice in several parts to brilliant effect. Guitarist Takayoshi Baba joins Nobie on the final track, a cute Japanese song which leaves the listener comforted and relaxed as the worldwide trip winds down.

Bénin Rio Tokyo by Nobie

• Nobie - vocal
• Lionel Loueke - guitar, vocals (#1-4)
• Toninho Horta - guitar, vocals (#5-6)
• Takayoshi Baba - guitar (#8)

Released in 2018 on Dear Heart as DBCW-3333.

Japanese names: ノビー Nobie 馬場孝喜 Baba Takayoshi

Audio and Video

• Nobie and Toninho Horta performing “Beijo Partido” live:

• Nobie performing “Tombo in 7/4” live:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Karibu”

Jazz of Japan #79 • Aug 15, 2019 • Brian McCrory