REVIEWS OF T.K. BLUE

What critics say about Eyes of the Elders:

• "A famous mentor leaves his mark on Eyes of the Elders, the third album from saxist/flutist T. K. Blue (also known as Talib Kibwe, the name under which he released his first disc). Blue is best known as a mainstay in Randy Weston’s bands of the last decade. Weston, of course, helped jazz rediscover its African roots, and that influence has remained the major facet of his music. Blue follows Weston’s example by borrowing African tonalities for some of his own compositions, and by applying African and Afro-Caribbean rhythms to jazz standards (such as “Wee” on this disc). And by spotlighting vibist Stefon Harris on nearly half the album — most often on marimba, a cousin of the African balofon — Kibwe has crafted a pseudo-African milieu for the album as well. (This comes to the fore on the album’s three short interludes, each titled “Village Council,” and especially on “Rites of Passage,” a dervish duet for Harris, on marimba, and Blue, on kalimba, or thumb piano.) On both sax and flute, Blue evokes an equally penetrating tone that shapes his approach to improvisation. He rarely allows a passage to get so involved that it obscures his full, ripe sound. With an excellent supporting cast — including trumpeter Randy Brecker, drummer Jeff Watts, and pianists Joanne Brackeen and Eric Reed — he has produced a dynamic tribute to his musical and spiritual antecedents."
  --Neil Tesser, Jazziz Magazine, April 2001