United is a studio collaborative album by Beninese guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke and English jazz bassist Dave Holland. The album was released on by Edition Records.
The album includes 11 tracks: 10 written by Loueke and one by Wayne ShorterâÂÂafter which the album is named. The origin of United is as organic and unplanned as the music it contains. Emerging from a spontaneous improvisation during a soundcheck, the album captures the deep, intuitive rapport between the two musicians. Holland recalls: "It was one of those rare moments where everything clicked. Lionel and I were improvising, and suddenly it wasnâÂÂt just soundâÂÂit was something bigger. I turned to him and said, âÂÂWe have to do this.âÂÂ"
Ian Patterson of All About Jazz wrote: "While the pair have played together in various settings, they had never performed as a duoâÂÂuntil an impromptu jam during a soundcheck. Happily, they clicked musically, and a seed was sewn. United is the very tasty fruit of their encounter... There is no doubt that there is strength, and beauty, in unity. This album speaks eloquently to that truth. Loueke and Holland share another connection."
John Fordham of Jazzwise stated: "Bass legend Dave Holland recalls that the spark for this beautiful dialogue with the Benin-born guitarist/vocalist Lionel Loueke sprang from an unrelated soundcheck in which they began improvising together and immediately realised they had happened on a dialogue packed with stories to come."