Search - T.K. Blue;Eric Reed;James Weidman;Joanne Brackeen;Lonnie Plaxico;Jeff "Tain"Watt;Stefon Harris;Randy Brecker;Steve Kroon :: Eyes of the Elders

TK Blue's newest reflects a previous era

rash67 | USA | 03/07/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I met TK Blue and heard him and his group play at a Borders in DC last year. Great show. I was disappointed when I purchased his last CD to find that many of the songs I heard were missing.Well, here they are on the new CD! The music on this delightful album is a cross between Jazz of a type I associate with the 50's and 60's with a strong dose of World Music sounds thrown in. Especially African. There is, along with the kalimba (thumb harps) and marimba songs, a lot of pleasant uptempo bebop, swing tempos and the kind of unusual shifting time signatures I found originally on Dave Brubeck - 13/8, 27/8 or whatever. Most of the songs are written by TK. But there is a song by Charles Mungus, John Coltrane, Benny Carter and Hale Smith. There are a couple of Samba tunes, but not the melancholy Samba/Bossa Nova of Antonio Carlos Jobim, but rather the rhythyms of Rio at Carnival, with half-nude dancers marching and Samba-ing down the street! "Dance of the Nile" has a North African or even Morrocan feel to it.My favorite song is the heart-felt ballad "Frozen Mist". TK plays with a lyric sweetness and doesn't (well, almost never) overblows or lets his tone get screechy. "Foundations..building on traditions..feeding off the present..shaping the future..yet never forgetting those who came before..." - these are NOT standards, but all cheerful songs seem to reflect a previous era. The best he has done to date! 3 1/2 to 4 stars!"

Tight

Mark H. Ballard | Bronxville, NY United States | 02/07/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A colleague of mine just dropped this album on my desk. The descriptive word that keeps popping into my head is "fresh". It's not your ordinary recycled modern jazz album. Just a great listen. Towards the end of the disc Mr. Blue hit a run of notes that just rocked me. Fun stuff, check it out..."

An underrated gem

Paul Farwell | USA | 09/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This one was overlooked when it came out - a shame, really. Talib brings together some excellent tunes and musicians, some great arrangements, and most of all lots of rhythms from other places, like South America, the Caribbean, Africa. It's one of the best examples of accessible contemporary jazz, one that should appeal to new and veteran jazz listeners.



Some highlights:



"Wee" has an infectious Caribbean beat and a smart arrangement. The theme alternates between a solo statement (with TK's alto), a call-and-response with Eric Reed's piano (whose solo is excellent), and a unison statement. All tight stuff, no slag here.



"Dance of the Nile" combines jazz with a hip-hop rhythm and does justice to both. It reminds me of Leon Parker's Above and Below CD, another sleeper which you should check out if you like jazz mixed with contemporary rhythms. The best playing comes from TK himself, who builds his solo nicely from a small statement into bigger, more complex ones, sustaining interest without overplaying.



"Frozen Mist" also has some nice alto by TK. On slower pieces like this, you might think you are listening to Bobby Watson (who has also tried to make jazz that's both accessible and worth a closer listen).



On "Matriarch" (for Joanne Brackeen) Talib exchanges alto for flute, which is perfect for a modal composition like this. Both the flute playing and the composition are nicely mysterious.



After a bit of lag toward the end, the CD finishes with its best track, a version of Coltrane's "Wise One". This has always been one of my favorite Coltrane compositions, and Talib's is my favorite re-interpretation of it (and there have been many). The key to Talib's version is the meter - or better yet, the way that meter is almost completely disguised. Coltrane's original was in a stately, vaguely latin, 4/4. Talib's version is in 10/8 or 5/4. But the actual meter isn't so crucial. It's the suspended quality of the tune that works. The odd meter allows the players to float over the rhythm, sometimes implying a straight 4/4 feel and often playing off it. It's a perfect match for "Wise One" just as it would be for "Naima", another `other worldly' tune by Coltrane. If played too literally, you lose the effect of transcendence Coltrane intended.



Reed and TK give effective solos on "Wise One" but the most moving solo comes from Randy Brecker. He manages to sound both urgent and restrained, somehow all in the same solo. Also, listen to Reed's piano in support of the soloist. His comping is an effective, running commentary to Brecker's playing. Excellent stuff.



One other nice touch on this CD. Talib plays kalimba `interludes' between several tracks. They don't really stand on their own but they are effective as glue that binds the album together - a reminder that all of the musical styles on this CD owe their origin (rhythmically, if not harmonically) to Africa. The are multiple meanings to `Elders' in the title of this CD, and its debt to Africa is clearly one of them.

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