Description

1LP Vinyl – CR 141

250 copies done. Original glued prints on thick cardboard, 700 gram.

Tarika Blue is in that category and ‘The Blue Path’ was their declaration of intent.

Tarika Blue was formed in 1973 by Phil Clendenin while he was a student at Syracuse University. Clendenin was a sometime keyboard session player and studio engineer who surrounded himself with rising players and talent to create a formidable unit centred around the core line-up of Clendenin, drummer Kevin Atkins and bassist Barry Coleman. This triumvirate rhythm section was augmented by various passing members that included sax player Marvin Blackman (who also worked with Rashied Ali) as well as some stellar guitarists who would go on the assume cult status on the jazz/funk scene:  Ryo Kawasaki and James Mason (Clendenin would go on to engineer Mason’s ‘Rhythm of Life’ album featuring that all-time rare groove calssic ‘Sweet Power, Your Embrace’). Also worth noting is that fact that sometime around 74-75, Clendenin was also a member of another act called the Big Apple Band, featuring a bassist Nile Rodgers and guitarist Bernard Edwards…

In 1974 Tarika Blue were signed to New York jazz label, Chiaroscuro Records, founded by producer  Hank O’Neal. Their first album, ‘The Blue Path’ was all instrumental of soaring jazz funk, a finely crafted weapon in the armoury of any self-respecting DJ or collector of jazz and funk.