T.K. Blue

Kibwe entered the world to West Indian parents and spent his childhood on New York's Long Island, first taking up trumpet at eight. After a brief period on drums and several years without an instrument, he began flute studies at seventeen and soon moved to saxophone. He enrolled at New York University in 1971, completing a double major in Music and Psychology by 1975; during those years the Jazzmobile program placed him in classes with saxophonists Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath, Billy Mitchell, and Ernie Wilkins. Between 1977 and 1980 he toured alongside pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, then relocated to Paris in 1981 and remained there until 1989. While abroad he assembled T.K. Odyssey, which issued his debut album Egyptian Oasis in 1986 and completed three State Department-sponsored tours of Africa. Kibwe came back to the United States in 1990 and later served as musical director and featured soloist in pianist Randy Weston's ensemble. Evidence Records issued Introducing Talib Kibwe in 1996, and by 2001 he had signed with Arkadia Records. Recording under the name T.K. Blue, he released Another Blue and Eyes of the Elders, enlisting both emerging New York mainstream players such as Stefon Harris and Eric Reed and veterans including Joanne Brackeen, Eddie Henderson, and Randy Brecker. He holds a B.A. from NYU and a Masters in Music Education from Columbia University.