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T.K. Blue's 'Planet Bluu' (JAJA Records) Versatile and Master Multi-instrumentalist, Composer, and Arranger T.K. Blue Announces Visionary New Album Planet Bluu - Out October 25, 2024 via JAJA Records Featuring T.K. Blue on Saxophone, Flute, and Kalimba, with Trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr., Pianist Davis Whitfield, Bassist Dishan Harper, and Drummer Orion Turre - with Special Guests Steve Turre and Dave Kikoski On the heels of performing with the Herbie Hancock Institute at the 2024 International Jazz Day Concert in Tangier, Morocco and the 2024 NEA Jazz Master Award Ceremony as leader and musical director of the African Rhythms Alumni Ensemble, T.K. Blue, is thrilled to announce the release of Planet Bluu, one of his most compelling and significant works to date. Having performed and recorded closely with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and NEA Jazz Masters Dr. Randy Weston, Abdullah Ibrahim and Jimmy Scott, leading saxophonist, flutist, composer, arranger, and educator T.K. Blue offers this latest release as his 14th album as band leader. Planet Bluu features trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr., pianist Davis Whitfield, bassist Dishan Harper, and drummer Orion Turre, as well as Steve Turre on trombone and shells (“Planet Bluu, ” “Chrystal Lake Bluu, ” “Chessman’s Delight, ” “Turquoise Bluu”) and Dave Kikoski on piano (“When It’s Time to Say Goodbye”). The album will be released October 25 via JAJA Records. Speaking of the master artist’s vast body of work, New York’s Hot House Jazz Guide has hailed T.K. Blue’s “supple and at times searing tone on alto and flute, ” and taken note of his “Afro-diasporic eclipse of jazz [with] West Indian and Latin rhythms, and Gnawa music from Morocco.” All About Jazz has praised his “skill, passion, and commitment to musical diversity.” And, describing his 2017 album Amour, DownBeat wrote that Blue “exudes armloads of dexterity and guileless charm… [He] is a craftsman so in love with his work that it doesn’t even feel like work.” Within this context, Planet Bluu creates a world that “lies just beyond the realm of our imagination, ” says Blue. Describing it as “a dream so fragile that if you whisper its presence, this magnanimous world might vanish into thin air, ” Blue delights that “Planet Bluu is a place devoid of war, famine, systemic racism, gender discrimination, and religious intolerance.” Yet, while “this ebullient planet lies just beyond the boundaries of our galaxy in a perpetual state of munificence, ” to use T.K.’s words, here on “terra firma, ” he and his colleagues “had music to make!” Blue identifies the effervescent quality of African hand pianos on Planet Bluu as the sonic source of the album’s ineffable vision. In addition to being a formidable saxophonist and flautist, T.K. is a master player of these instruments, including the kalimba, sanza, lukembi, mbira, and bongo which differ in name according to the regional origins of their distinct constructions, tunings, and timbres. Players of African hand pianos are often known as Griot or Jalis, the aural historians of traditional African society. Deeply influenced by his parents’ diasporic African heritage in Trinidad, Tobago, and Jamaica as well as his own extensive travels through Africa – including three USIA State Department tours – Blue also shares how, rooted in his diverse African experience, Planet Bluu creates “sounds of joy and music that is rhythmically upbeat for folks to experience in their hearts.” Planet Bluu kicks off with a mission statement in “The Hue of Bluu, ” which features masterful solos from Roney and Davis. “I've always loved and cherished the different shades, colorations, and variations on blue, ” the maestro discloses. “The color exemplifies royalty, spirituality, tranquility, and a sublime energy, which remains on simmer, but can fire up on a moment's notice.” Blue intended “Valley of the Bluu Rose” to serve as “an improvisational vehicle” for himself on soprano saxophone and Wally on trumpet. Observing that “the rose exists in different shades and colors, ” when speaking about the inspiration behind the poetic title of this track, Blue remarks that “the rare blue variety has the strongest scent. Its fragrance is penetrating and quite captivating.” The artist originally composed the title track, “Planet Bluu, ” on the kalimba, which provided him with the melodic material for the “A” sections. He later adapted it for the piano to find the right harmonic sequence for the melody and to bridge the “A” sections. When taking in “Chrystal Lake Bluu, ” Blue requests that the listener “picture a fresh-water lake on top of a plateau whose waters are pristine boasting over one hundred feet of visibility. The sanza is very important in establishing the mood as well as shell master Steve Turre.” “Sky Bluu” follows, in two parts. For “Sky Bluu Part 1, ” Blue plays the opening statement on the lukembi followed by a repetition of the melodic line on alto saxophone. On the piano, he composed a harmonic movement to accompany the melody and improvisation. For the second, “Sky Bluu Part 2, ” the lukembi’s repetitive line is echoed with the trumpet and alto saxophone, along with a dynamic rhythmic accompaniment and energetic solos. “When It’s Time to Say Goodbye” was written by Blue’s teacher, the great Hale Smith. “His compositions are extremely compelling. His wife Juanita is like a godmother, and I visit her in Long Island quite frequently, ” Blue says. “‘When it's Time To Say Goodbye’ is a beautiful ballad and one of Juanita's favorite songs composed by her husband. It was recorded in her honor.” “Chessman’s Delight” is a tune by NEA Jazz Master, Dr. Randy Weston. “He had a profound influence on my career and I am forever grateful for his unwavering support and encouragement, ” Blue says. “Everyone gets a taste on this track — including master trombonist and special guest Steve Turre.” (Blue has a long and fruitful history with Weston; his last album, 2019’s The Rhythms Continue, paid tribute to the man.) The 7/4 “Turquoise Blue” is an ode to that titular shade — with its “hints of elegance, royalty, spirituality, and reverence.” “Royal Bluu” is a kalimba-and-drums duo between Blue and Turre. And the final track, “The Bluu Sea of Our Tomorrows, ” is a vehicle for spontaneous composition. As Blue explains, “I created three different horn lines, which are layered. This creates some tension, which reflects adversity.” Planet Bluu offers solace — a world of beauty, cooperation and ingenuity, bathed in azure shades. It is his hope that this music “will help in the healing process of Mother Earth and bring all of humanity together in the realm of love and forgiveness! " |
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