Kummert Nicolas

La Diversité is the major new album from internationally acclaimed Belgian saxophonist Nicolas Kummert (of Drifter, Jef Neve and GrooveTHing, Viktor Lazlo’s tribute to Billie Holiday, Yves Peeters Group and his own Nicolas Kummert Voices). Featuring Lionel Loueke, Blue Note Records’ guitarist and singer from Benin, Kummert’s quartet brings together four diverse and creative minds in a unified album that will propel him to wide international attention. Six of the album’s 14 tracks are actually duets featuring Nicolas and Lionel, highlighting the free-spirited interaction that has developed between them.

So, why La Diversité? “‘Purity’ doesn’t exist because it is an evolutionary dead-end. Diversity is reality, it is our only way to go. Diversity is today’s toughest challenge, but because purity would lead to extinction, we, as a species, have no choice but to embrace diversity.”

Nicolas’ interest in diversity in music has led him to play with African artists (amoung others) such as Manu Dibango and Keziah Jones, and sees him regularly travel to the continent to play concerts and creative residences.