PERHAPS these two albums should have been packaged together as a three CD set.

This is the band formed in 1998 by drummer Bill Bruford (Yes, Genesis) and bassist Tony Levin.

They had met up whilst in King Crimson and found they had a shared interest in jazz and when their schedules allowed, they came together and recruited guitarist David Torn and trumpeter Chris Botti.

The eponymously-names debut album was in it’s own way, ground-breaking as no-one had tried to marry rock and jazz in this way before.

The album was released in 1999 and contained the excellent tracks ‘Cerulean Sea’ and ‘Thick With Thin Air’.

This release will be welcomed by all fans of experimental music and especially the fans of the King Crimson offshoot bands as it has been unavailable for many years, and it’s about time it was reappraised.

The musicianship is of the highest order, as this sort of music isn’t the easiest to play, but the four band-members pull it off.

Quite why they never made another studio album is a bit of a mystery.

‘Blue Nights’ is the companion release to the studio album and forms the only other album released under the B.L.U.E. name.

Released in 2000, this double CD contains the pick of the band’s live set as they toured in 1998.

Much of the studio album is performed, but usually in an extended form, and there are a number of tracks that only appear on this album, such as ‘Dentures Of The Gods’ and ‘Outer Blue’.

Throughout the live set there is some pretty nifty improvisations to delight the hard-core jazz fans.

It’s a superb memento of a unique set of dates.

Both albums contain interesting notes from both Bruford and Levin.

Catalogue Numbers: Gonzo, HST022CD (Bruford Levin Upper Extremities) Gonzo, HST021CD (Blue Nights)