August 21, 2009

ROBERT GLASPER






Jazz pianist Robert Glasper is going to release his third album "Double-Booked" next week. I've been listening to the CD for the past few weeks but still haven't come to a definite opinion. I like the record in many ways - especially the first half of it which represents his trio - but I can't deny that Glasper's music sounds too directionless from time to time (or song to song) in my opinion. This mainly has to do with part 2 of the album. Here, "The Robert Glasper Experiment" takes over.

Experiment, because it is supposed to combine Jazz with HipHop, Glasper's other passion. The result is a fusion of both, a bit of everything, unfortunately without a clear statement. Collaborations with Mos Def, Bilal and ?uestlove (if only on Glasper's voice mail) promise a lot, and these promises are difficult to keep. Questions arise, for example, why Mos Def only contributes to "4eva" by repeating to say "forever ever" for 20 seconds.

Track 8, "Butterfly" features a vocoder voice. I'm sorry, but I had my heavy dose of it. It just doesn't make things better. Not even if it's inspired by a Herbie Hancock tune. Following on, "Festival" demonstrates how Free Jazz got its name. The song is wild, digresses in every possible direction and...is making me nervous. Similar things can be said about the last tune of the album, "Open Mind". Track 11, "All Matter" in contrast, which highlights Bilal's yearning voice, is a wonderful track. It is full, consistent, perfect. Same applies to tracks 2 to 6, with a special emphasis on "59 South" and "Think Of One", a Thelonious Monk remake. They are harmonic Jazz compositions, and it just doesn't need more (freedom & fusion).

Below you find listening examples of my favourite 3 "Double-Booked" tunes. These songs are brilliant. And isn't it worth buying an album for 3 outstanding pieces of music? I think so.




Track 5 "59 South"





Track 6 "Think of One"





Track 11 "All Matter"







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