Sounds for a Blue Planet is an eclectic blend of musical styles, held together by Dago's guitar playing. Known already for his work with acoustic guitar, he plays that and also electric and highstrung guitar in addition to his homegrown sitar on this CD. Steven Toeteberg provides keyboard skills, and the soprano sax and flute of Tony Lakatos is pleasingly evident. He has various artists guesting on vocals, and the music is further supplemented by artists on violin, bass, cello and more guitars. Kornel Horvath on percussion gets to work with the usual array as well as less familiar instruments such as udu, shekere and djembe.

The overall feel of the album is relaxing, yet fresh. At times it does tend to blend into the subconscious, then a track will force your ears to pay better attention. The vocals are sympathetic and the lyrics are printed on the green and interesting cover booklet, including a translation for "Nessa Hora Azul."

There is, of course, a dominant string sound, accompanied by various noises and percussion, giving a feeling that you are in a faraway jungle, an exotic rainforest, or resting by a cool, deep forest pool, sunlight filtering through the branches of trees towering high above. "Out Of The Jungle" has a particularly pulsating rhythm, primal in its pull and hypnotic in its repetition. Wild animals fly or lope past, and there is a plethora of unusual sounds to tease your senses. For over an hour, Dago transports his listeners around the globe, melodies influenced by different lands and cultures, harmonies swooping like the flight of birds of paradise....

If you do not like new age music, I doubt this CD is for you, although the smooth jazz may successfully seduce you to keep listening. The album grew on me over several playings, and while I wouldn't necessarily rush out to buy his earlier work, I'm quite happy to keep Sounds for a Blue Planet in my collection.