Gretchen Parlato/Lionel Loueke Duo

Reflecting on the great musical duos of our time and what it is that makes them essential, it would seem plausible that there would be at least a short list of common foundational factors necessary for success.

For eminent artists, vocalist-arranger Gretchen Parlato and guitaristvocalist Lionel Loueke, their formula is anchored in what could initially seem to be contrasting components — intrinsic rootedness paired with freedom, spontaneity, and impulse. The development of an earthy connection lays the groundwork for the confidence and trust required for experimentation and ascension.

Of their affecting, palpable synergy, Loueke has endearingly adopted the term “Musical Soulmate.” “It’s somebody who finishes your musical sentences, so to speak … someone whom I completely trust and admire,” says Parlato elaborating on the sentiment. “We are challenging each other at the same time,” adds Loueke. “I just go wherever she is and vice versa. So, there’s no comfort zone. We get into the Unknown Zone.”

However, it is the uncharted territory that Parlato and Loueke would have to traverse off of the bandstand that has produced their first formal duo recording project. Conceptualized, written, and recorded while in the grips of a global pandemic, Lean In bears the various loads of the last three years: a worldwide public health crisis, the traumatic losses of black life, police brutality, devastating wildfires across the world, an economic recession, a tense election punctuated by insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and a myriad of civil and human rights hanging in the balance.

With the standstill providing unexpected free time for new ways to connect to her craft, Parlato took a songwriting class over Zoom, facilitated by musician and close friend Becca Stevens, hence birthing the title track and concept of the project. “The lyrics tell a story of a thought process during the shutdown of the pandemic. Beginning with closing in and isolating, moving to a realization of who we are and what we have within us.” says Parlato. Offering our gifts isn’t only for our own benefit but for all those around us. The learning is a process, not giving up or letting ourselves down. Lean In encourages the idea of leaning into ourselves, each other, and our world, with love, compassion and understanding.”

Lean In is an offering conceived through the lens of two friends and collaborators who were decidedly vulnerable about an unforeseeable journey that would challenge all of us, both individually and collectively, in unprecedented ways. The result is a palpably soul-stirring set that fully captures the allure, charisma, and ingenuity of deeply feeling artists and the range of their perspectives that have developed during the most trying of times.

The two met in 2001 while studying at The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We started playing together more and more,” says Loueke. “It was obvious for me that we were definitely connected.” In 2003, both musicians cut their teeth on New York City’s jazz circuit, often playing duo concerts, or inviting one another as guests within larger ensembles. Over the next three years, they both would emerge as major artists on the rise, with Loueke working with luminaries like Terence Blanchard and Herbie Hancock; and Parlato winning first place in the 2004 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, gaining the attention and mentorship of Wayne Shorter and others. )