It's been quite a year for brilliant yet ubiquitous Benin-born guitarist Lionel Loueke. He's popped up on albums with the Blue Note All-Stars, French saxophonist Nicolas Kummert, as a featured guest with Australian band The Vampires, appeared on Marius Neset's latest set on ACT, Circle of Chimes, oh, and he's also part of Herbie Hancock's killer live band. It makes you wonder just what is so alluring about his quirkily imaginative approach to melding his African rhythmic heritage to cutting edge jazz harmony and inventive use of effects. Regardless, he's clearly bewitched a whole swathe of his peers. So this intimate guitar, piano and voice studio set with keys man Kevin Hays is something of a contrast to all this rushing around between sessions and festival stages. Indeed, it feels like both players are luxuriating in the calmness of their own company. Vinyl-only subscription label Newvelle are also to be complimented on again setting optimum conditions for heightening the simpatico closeness of both song choice and audio production. As such Loueke's ‘Hope’ (taken from his 2012 Blue Note set, Heritage) and ‘Aziza Dance’ (previously performed with his starry Aziza quartet with bass don Dave Holland) work well as simple, near-skeletal, acoustic re-workings, a beatific balance struck between the guitarist's clicking mouth-percussion, bass-like snapping strings and delicate chords, which melt into a sublime bubbling whole. Hays is a pivotal part of the equation too, his angular piece ‘Violeta’ opening the set, his tribute to Milton Nascemento – simply titled ‘Milton’ – kicking off side two and the closing melancholic ‘All I Have’ contrasting with a chordal lushness to Loueke's sparse-funkiness. If the improvisational flights are kept tightly focused in favour of the close-knit dialogue, then it only serves to emphasise the warmth and sanctuary Loueke and Hays create here.