White is white, but there are 500 shades of blue. These are the colors from the improvised palette of trumpeter
Tamura
, who gets percussion help here from
Jim Black
and
Aaron Alexander
. These ten duet tracks are numbered one through ten, with the first five featuring the ever-witty
Black
. Triple pianissimo sounds creep in with softly bleating horn and pounding percussion on track one, while flute, roiling percussion, and a minimal, repeated trumpet theme recalling a comedic
Lester Bowie
highlight track two. Flushing trumpet, softly growling brass, and
's oriental drumming inform track three. Track four features a Native American chant with scatting and plenty of
Satchmo
-isms, and the military-themed track five is driven by a rambling melodicism.
Alexander
share an African chant on track six, while track seven features a dance-oriented foundation and a more
Don Cherry
-like sound from
. Track eight is much more spatial in call-and-response mode; nine features long tones, silence, and a strutting,
Ed Blackwell
-type beat over squawky trumpet; while ten is much more interactive and purposeful, using several different no-time segments over the course of its nine minutes. Acting as a creative concerto,
White & Blue
works as a whole, but it must be listened to in its entirety to be fully appreciated. ~ Michael G. Nastos