A sophisticated contemporary Jazz trio,
Gilfema is known for their boundary-crossing mix of post-bop, fusion, African traditions, and modern creative improvisation. An outgrowth of acclaimed guitarist
Lionel Loueke's ensemble, the trio initially drew praise for their 2004 debut,
Gilfema, and have continued to evolve on 2008s'
Gilfema +2 and 2020's
Three.
Formed in 2004,
Gilfema features the talents of West African-born guitarist/vocalist
Loueke, Sweden-born Italian bassist
Massimo Biolcati, and Hungarian drummer
Ferenc Nemeth. They all initially met while students at Boston's Berklee College of Music in the late '90s and have continued to work together as part of
Loueke's main line-up. Together, they have recorded such highly regarded Blue Note albums as 2008's
Karibu and 2015's
Gaïa. However, whereas they normally play
Loueke's original compositions, they formed
Gilfema as an outlet to explore each member's songs. The trio debuted in 2004 with the
Michele Locatelli-produced
Gilfema on ObliqSound. They returned in 2008 with another
Locatelli-helmed production,
Gilfema +2, which featured collaborations with clarinetists
John Ellis and
Anat Cohen. Following work on several
Loueke solo projects, the trio returned in 2020 with the aptly titled
Three, which featured a cover of
Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing." ~ Matt Collar