Gilfema are a cooperative trio featuring West African guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke, Swiss-born Italian resident bassist Massimo Biolcati, and Hungarian drummer Ferenc Nemeth. All three equally split compositional credits, which is not so much a distinction in terms of the overall sound they agree upon. It’s modal world music in general — expressive, joyous, emotionally introspective, acoustically based, jazz inspired, and individualistic. The sounds are soaring, beautifully conceived, and concisely executed. As in the case of “Dream” and “Gbede Temin” in 6/8, “Vera” in 5/4, and “Tinmin” in 13/8, the employed complex time signatures melded with probing, exploratory minimalism appear simple and seemingly effortless. There’s an easy swaying waltz, two ballads, a light Afro-funk, and a highlife tune included in the repertoire. The three most unusual or unexpected twists manifest in the contrary locomotive brush work of Nemeth pitted against a pensive, dark stance of guitar/voice and bass during “Lost Magic,” a processed electric guitar and backward loops working with a truly complex rhythm on “Manding,” and Loueke’s uncharacteristic wah-wah going deep and heading underground for “Hormonix.” The guitarist’s vocal musings, gentle and warm, appear unobtrusively throughout, but are never distracting from his wonderful playing. For an ostensible debut this holds much promise, although one suspects this is not just a stand-alone working group, but one Loueke will lead, with a larger complement of musicians, in the future. – Michael G. Nastos