Tarika Blue - Tarika Blue (Smooth Jazz)

1. Dreamflower (the music for Erykah Badu's #1 hit "Didn't Cha Know")

2. Truth Is The Key

3. Love It

4. Things Spring

5. You'll Be With Me

6. My Love Is So Free

7. Charlie

8. Jimi

9. Blue Neptune

10. Sunshower

11. Revelation

12. Downtown Sound

13. Sun Thru Winter

Do not let it happen again! Tarika Blue made 2 LPS of quite uncatagorizable musics (only the fabulous one LP "Wonders" Full Moon might be comparable for that time), the musical concept of these college mates was TOO harmonically/melodically advanced to fall into what soon was to become the "Quiet Storm" or "Smooth Jazz" moviment, not quite "out" enough to ride with the Miles Davis "electric bag", and not full of machinegun -like showboat soloistics as the Mahavishnu Orchestra or Chick Corea's Return to Forever.

Instead, Philip Clendenon attracted the straight ahead jazz guitarist Ryo Kawasaki, and the funkier Jazz meets Hendrix approach of James Mason(Who had his career resurrected the last few years also), along with the Coltrane influenced sassofones of Marvin Blackman, and Justo Almario's more rounded approach on the same axe!

Beautiful dreamlike compositions which are NOW being catagorized as "spritual jazz"(from the Coltrane/Faroah Sanders) to some anglualr funk jazz, emfasis on the JAZZ, not just mindless throw away sounds that seem to captivate the radio audience who believe they listen to "jazz'.

Frasing and melody in all the solo work float and dance over an excellent harmonic chordal concept.

I have heard some one in the "nu Soul" school has sampled the incredibly beautiful opening track, "Dreamflower". Who it was, I forget, but she has "good taste"!

They play the stars outta these compositions, excelente mesmo!