T.K. Blue describes Planet Bluu as one of his most compelling and significant works to date. Planet Bluu, he further describes it, is a world that lies just beyond the realm of our imagination. A dream so fragile that if you whisper its presence this magnanimous world might disappear into thin air. It's a place, he says, that's devoid of war, famine, systemic racism, gender discrimination and religious intolerance.
A world, I guess, that all, or at least most of us, would like to inhabit - dream on ...
However, in the meantime we have the music which is full of twists and turns and wild freak-out moments that certainly blow the cobwebs away. Blue wails and howls like a hip banshee on a night when the moon is full. Yet, at other times, as and when the muse descends, he can be soft and melancholy. A typical example of the latter being When it's Time to Say Goodbye.
Apart from his virtuosity on alto sax and alto flute he's also a master of the kalimba, or thumb piano as it's also known. I remember messing about with one many years ago and ended up with my thumbs bleeding!
Wallace Roney Jr. is also on fire and the high note exchanges between Blue and Roney are something to get the adrenaline flowing .
The four tracks with Steve Turre blowing trombone add another dimension - swing! With his son Orion on drums neither could lose face and they feed off each other.
Release date Oct. 25. Well worth a punt. Lance
The Hue of Bluu; Valley of the Bluu Rose; Planet Bluu; Chrystal Lake Bluu; Sky Bluu Part 1; Sky Bluu Part 2; When it's Time to Say Goodbye*; Chessman's Delight**; Turquoise Bluu; Royal Bluu; The Bluu Sea of Our Tomorrows.
All compositions are by T.K. Bluu except:
* By Hale Smith
** By Dr. Randy Weston.
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