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Beyond this trio, Glasper has eclectic tastes and regularly works alongside hip hop artists such as Q-Tip, Bilal, Mos Def and The Roots. He leads the Robert Glasper Experiment, an outlet for his hip hop-flavoured music. On Double Booked, his third Blue Note, he showcases both aspects of his music.
Successful amalgams of jazz and hip hop are rare. Rather than venturing down that route, this album contains six tracks by the Robert Glasper Trio followed by another six from the Experiment. The latter tracks feature guest appearances by Mos Def and Bilal, the latter providing plaintive vocals on two tracks including his self-penned All Matter.
The Experiment’s electric instrumentation – including Glasper’s Fender Rhodes, Derrick Hodge on bass guitar, Casey Benjamin’s treated alto saxophone and vocoder-distorted vocals – creates a soundscape that contrasts starkly with the trio while also sounding like a period piece from the last century.
Chris Dave’s busy drumming style is well suited to the Experiment, but he doesn’t have the subtlety of Damion Reid, the trio’s former drummer. On Yes I’m Country (And That’s OK), one of Glasper’s beguilingly beautiful compositions for the trio, the drums almost overwhelm the piano. Long-standing bassist Vincente Archer complements the piano perfectly.
Alongside the original compositions, cover versions of two tracks by past Blue Note pianists dominate Double Booked. Thelonious Monk’s Think of One provides a fitting showcase for Glasper’s skills. He reels off fluent solo passages, building tension and momentum that takes the track to a thrilling finale.
The Experiment’s version of Herbie Hancock’s Butterfly emphasises Glasper’s desire to follow in the influential pianist’s footsteps in straddling jazz and other music. While Glasper certainly has the talent to succeed Monk, Hancock and other illustrious Blue Note artists, in aiming to please both jazz and hip hop fans with Double Booked he runs the risk of not fully satisfying either. --John Eyles
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The second part of the album has Glasper retain drummer Dave, but brings in Derek Hodge on Electric Bass and Casey Benjamin on Saxes and Vocoder, together with vocalists Bilal(tracks 11 and 12) and Mos Def on Track 7 with Jah Sundance on turntables for "Open Mind". In some ways the contrast with the tightness of the first six tracks may be difficult to reconcile, but Glasper coaxes some excellent performances on not only his self written pieces (7 and 9) but also provides alternative views of tracks like Herbie Hancock's "Butterfly" and especially Derek Hodge's "Open Mind". I particularly like Glasper#'s extended workout on " Festival" and the version of "All matter".
Perhaps his next album ought to be a double set with expanded takes on both styles, but as a possible introduction to an emerging talent this is an excellent way to start.
The album starts off quite strait-laced, as Glasper plays more classic sounding jazz riffs with an acoustic jazz trio. Still, there's plenty of improvisation here, yet it's all held together by rich riffs and motifs.
The second half, prefaced by a brief answerphone message, is much more experimental. Glasper goes electric here, and there are elements of hip hop (Mos Def performs vocals on "4eva").
It's like jumping from Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" straight into his legendary "Headhunters" album.
This second half, not that the first half is bad by any stretch of the imagination, is what makes the album a truly great one for me. Glasper is here taking the boundaries of jazz and pushing them, as Hancock did with Headhunters. There are a lot of vocals, and it's the vocal side of the record that draws it close to some of the great electronic acts - there are certainly sniffs of Kraftwerk, or more modern boundary breakers like Dam-Funk.
Still, I've never heard anything like the second half of this record anywhere else. The way Glasper puts everything together is the work of a master, and this will undoubtedly be recognised as one of the great jazz albums of all time in the not so distant future...the Gilles Peterson award is just the first step on the road to that acknowledgement.
There's much emphasis on this being a recording split between Glasper's jazz trio and his hip hop work. I'd say that in general I hate hip hop! I can't say I like every track of the hip hop stuff but it certainly doesn't spoil the CD. And the jazz trio tracks are so good that the CD is worth buying just for those.
What's it like? Very melodic piano, quite busy but not fussy or too flowery. Very solid bass and drums. Superbly recorded.
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