Robert Glasper | |
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 Glasper in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert Andre Glasper[1] |
| Born | (1978-04-05)April 5, 1978 (age 47)[2] |
| Origin | Houston,Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of |
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| Website | robertglasper |
Robert Andre Glasper (born April 5, 1978) is an Americanpianist, record producer, songwriter, andmusical arranger. His music embodies numerous musical genres, primarily centered aroundjazz. Glasper has won fiveGrammy Awards from 11 nominations.
Glasper's breakout album,Black Radio (2012), peaked at number 15 on theBillboard 200 chart and wonBest R&B Album at55th Annual Grammy Awards. The following year, he released its sequel,Black Radio 2. In 2015, he played keyboards onKendrick Lamar's albumTo Pimp a Butterfly, and appeared on thesoundtrack for the 2015 drama filmMiles Ahead.
Outside of his own musical work, he has co-written or produced albums forMac Miller,Anderson .Paak,The Kid Laroi,Banks,Herbie Hancock,Big K.R.I.T.,Brittany Howard,Bilal,Denzel Curry,Q-Tip, andTalib Kweli, among others. He won the 2017Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for his song "A Letter to the Free" featured inAva DuVernay's documentary,13th, along withCommon andKarriem Riggins. Glasper also composed the score for the documentary filmThe Apollo, and composed the original score forIssa Rae'sThe Photograph.
He has also been an Artist in Residence at venues including theLondon Jazz Festival,North Sea Jazz Festival,The Kennedy Center,Hollywood Bowl,Carnegie Hall, and theBlue Note Jazz Club.
Glasper's earliest musical influence was his mother, Kim Yvette Glasper, who sang jazz and blues professionally. She took her son with her to club dates rather than leave him with babysitters. She was the music director at the East Wind Baptist Church, where Glasper first performed in public.[3] He performed during services at three churches:Baptist,Catholic, andSeventh-day Adventist. Glasper has said that he first developed his sound in church, where he learned his own way to hearharmony and was inspired to mix church and gospel harmonies with jazz harmonies.
Glasper attended Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas, and theHigh School for the Performing and Visual Arts. In tenth grade he performed with the jazz band atTexas Southern University.[4] He was in the second Vail Jazz Workshop in 1997,[5] and went on to attend theNew School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City.[6] At the New School, Glasper met neo-soul singerBilal.[7] They began performing and recording together, which led to associations with a variety of hip hop and R&B artists parallel to Glasper's emerging jazz career.
According to Glasper, he became interested in hip-hop after listening toA Tribe Called Quest.[8][9]
Glasper's playing career was launched in earnest whilst still studying atThe New School in New York when he started touring as a sideman with some of the established greats of the scene (bassistChristian McBride, and trumpetersTerence Blanchard andRoy Hargrove). At the same time, Robert was forging a friendship with his New School-mateBilal, as well as a musical bond that saw them embedded in a burgeoning hip hop andneo soul movement alongside era-defining artists such asJill Scott,The Roots, andJ Dilla—during which time Glasper became music director forYasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def).
Glasper released his first album,Mood, in 2002 on theFresh Sound New Talent label.Mood features six original compositions alongside versions of thejazz standards includingHerbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage". Primarily a piano trio recording, with Bob Hurst on bass andDamion Reid on drums, the album also features saxophonistsMarcus Strickland and John Ellis, along with the vocalistBilal.
Around this time, Glasper recorded with Bilal atElectric Lady Studios for the singer's unreleased but widely leaked second album,Love for Sale.[10]
In 2005, Glasper released his debut onBlue Note Records,Canvas, with what was to become his quintessential piano trio lineup ofVicente Archer on bass andDamion Reid on drums. The album features nine original compositions alongside acover of Herbie Hancock's "Riot".
His third album,In My Element, was released in 2007 and includes songs written in honor of Glasper's mother ("Tribute") and hip hop producerJ Dilla ("J Dillalude"). The pianist also revisits Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" in what was becoming his signature fusion style, moving between contemporary and classic as it segues into a version of Radiohead's "Everything in Its Right Place", and quotingDuke Ellington's "Fleurette Africaine".
Glasper's 2009 album,Double-Booked, is divided between songs performed by Glasper in an acoustic piano trio format, and his groundbreaking electric group, The Experiment, withDerrick Hodge,Casey Benjamin, and Chris "Daddy" Dave. The album features guest vocals and spoken-word appearances by Bilal andYasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def). The track "All Matter", which featured Bilal, received a 2010Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.
In February 2012, Glasper released his fifth and seminal albumBlack Radio, which featured performances by a lineup of neo-soul and hip-hop artists includingLupe Fiasco,Bilal,Lalah Hathaway,Erykah Badu, andYasiin Bey.Black Radio was met with both commercial success (a #10 debut onBillboard's Top Current Albums chart) and critical acclaim, withRolling Stone declaring that it "feels like a blueprint forward", and went on to win the 2013Grammy for best R&B album. In 2012 a concert at theVillage Vanguard was recorded on video and published on YouTube.[11] In November 2012,Black Radio Recovered: The Remix EP was released with five remixed tracks from the prior album, including remixes byQuestlove,Solange,Georgia Muldrow,Pete Rock, and9th Wonder.
In October 2013, Glasper releasedBlack Radio 2. The core remained the Robert Glasper Experiment, featuring Robert Glasper on keyboards,Derrick Hodge on bass,Mark Colenburg on drums, andCasey Benjamin on vocoder and saxophone. Guest vocalists includedCommon,Brandy,Jill Scott,Marsha Ambrosius,Anthony Hamilton,Faith Evans,Norah Jones,Snoop Dogg,Lupe Fiasco, andEmeli Sandé. Notably,Lalah Hathaway andMalcolm-Jamal Warner were featured on a cover ofStevie Wonder's "Jesus Children of America", a dedication to the victims of theSandy Hook Elementary School shootings. The track would go on to win theGrammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance in 2015, whilst the album was nominated for Best R&B album.
On June 16, 2015, Robert Glasper releasedCovered, a return to his acoustic piano trio format alongside musiciansDamion Reid andVicente Archer. The album features cover songs, drawn from an eclectic variety of artists, includingRadiohead,John Legend,Kendrick Lamar, andJoni Mitchell. The album was recorded live atCapitol Studios in 2014.Covered was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
2015 saw Glasper andLauryn Hill co-produceNina Revisited... A Tribute to Nina Simone, an all-star tribute album pegged to the release ofLiz Garbus's documentaryWhat Happened, Miss Simone? The album features artists bringing a contemporary reimagining ofNina Simone's catalogue including contributions fromUsher,Common, andMary J. Blige.
In 2015, Glasper served asproducer,composer, andarranger for the filmMiles Ahead, abiopic documenting the life of jazz trumpeterMiles Davis, whom Glasper cites as being one of his major musical influences. The soundtrack primarily consists of arrangements and interpretations of some of Davis's most well-known compositions, with the exception of a few tunes written by Glasper himself, and won him the 2017Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.
In 2016, Glasper was able to pay further tribute to Miles Davis, releasingEverything's Beautiful on May 27, 2016, his first withColumbia Records andLegacy Recordings. The album serves as a tribute to Davis by way of remixes and reinterpretations of several of his original works. The album debuted in the top ten billboard Hip Hop and R&B charts, the highest Miles Davis charted according toRolling Stone. Although Davis died in 1991, he is credited as a co-artist of the album. The album includes features fromStevie Wonder,Bilal,Illa J,Erykah Badu,Phonte,Hiatus Kaiyote,Laura Mvula,Georgia Anne Muldrow,Ledisi, andJohn Scofield.
September 16, 2016 marked Glasper's return to his electric group, the Robert Glasper Experiment, with the release ofArtScience: the first Experiment LP where all members write and produce, and the first with no guest vocalists, although Glasper himself sings on the album. It features saxophonist and vocalistCasey Benjamin, bassistDerrick Hodge and drummerMark Colenburg alongside Glasper, and was recorded in New Orleans. Glasper would go on to release a remix version of the album in collaboration withKaytranada in 2018 entitledRobert Glasper x Kaytranada: The ArtScience Remixes.
2016 saw Glasper receive attention for his prominent role onKendrick Lamar's critically acclaimed albumTo Pimp a Butterfly, notably playing on the Grammy-winning track "These Walls".
In October 2016, Glasper co-hosted the inaugural Blue Note Cruise alongsideGregory Porter. The cruise became an annual event and Robert co-hosts it each year with bassistMarcus Miller.
In January 2017, Glasper performed withChristina Aguilera at Taking the Stage, the celebratory concert commemorating the opening of the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. It was hosted by Dave Chappelle and featured a plethora of other icons of black music and culture including Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Chuck D, and others. The concert was made into a feature-length program and broadcast on ABC in June 2020.
In February 2017, Glasper partnered with Afropunk as Creative and Musical Director for their special Unapologetically Black show, performed at theApollo Theater. A celebration of African American protest music, the show featuredJill Scott,Bilal,Staceyann Chin, andToshi Reagon alongside a special big band ensemble led by Glasper.
On September 29, 2017 Glasper releasedOur Point of View with the Blue Note All Stars band, for which he brought together other leading figures of his generation for a special project celebrating the legacy and future of Blue Note Records. The record featured each artist's original compositions as well as a jam session, recorded live in the studio, where the band were joined by Glasper's heroes and jazz iconsHerbie Hancock andWayne Shorter.Don Was co-produced the album with Glasper and footage of the recording session features on Sophi Huber's 2019 documentary,Blue Note Records: Behind the Notes.
In September 2017, Glasper appeared on a live stream withEsperanza Spalding while recording "Heaven in Pennies" for Spalding's albumExposure, which was released in December 2017.
In 2018 Glasper formed two new supergroups: R+R=Now withTerrace Martin,Derrick Hodge,Taylor McFerrin,Christian Scott, andJustin Tyson;[12] andAugust Greene withCommon andKarriem Riggins accompanied by Burniss Travis and Samora Pinderhughes.
R+R=Now stands for Reflect+Respond=Now, a nod toNina Simone's statement that "An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times" and a reference to the current political climate. R+R=Now's debut album,Collagically Speaking, was released on June 15, 2018.
August Greene was formed by Glasper, Common, and Riggins after Glasper and Riggins jointly produced Common'sBlack America album, which included the Emmy-winning track "Letter to the Free", which featured onAva DuVernay's documentary13th. The group had previously performed together for a special edition of theTiny Desk Concerts concert series at theWhite House in 2016, the only one done in the location. August Greene released their self-titled debut album on February 21, 2018.
In October 2018, Glasper launched the first of what would become his annual month-long residencies at theBlue Note Jazz Club. In 2018, Glasper appeared onThe Potash Twins series 'Beats + Bites' (Bravo TV) along withWynton Marsalis,Smino &Tom Colicchio.[13]
Each year, in the course of playing 56 sold-out shows across 30 days, Glasper curates a unique program—testimony to the breadth of his portfolio, vision and bandmates—and draws the great and the good of his creative community to the shows on and off stage. Projects have included a tribute toStevie Wonder withLuke James, a band withYasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and a trio withEsperanza Spalding. Guests have ranged fromCommon,Black Thought,Yebba andQ-Tip toAngela Davis andIlyasah Shabazz,Dave Chappelle andTiffany Haddish, many of whom have made unscripted appearances performing with Glasper as well as watching the show.
In the summer of 2019 Glasper was Artist in Residence at theNorth Sea Jazz Festival, curating and performing over the weekend with a series of special bands and projects across the festival's stages.
In September 2019, Glasper was Artist in Residence at theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He commemorated the opening of their new building with a two-week series of events and outreach. On October 3, 2019, Glasper released the mixtapeFuck Yo Feelings, his first recording withLoma Vista Recordings, on the first day of his 56-show 2019 residency at theBlue Note Jazz Club.Fuck Yo Feelings is the result of a two-day session in which Glasper texted invitations to his musician friends to stop by the studio and organically create together. Featured artists, who includedHerbie Hancock,Cordae, Buddy,Andra Day,Yebba,Baby Rose andRapsody, often composed their contributions on the spot. The album's name mirrors a tattoo that Glasper got a week before recording. In 2019, Glasper appeared in Toni Thai Sterrett's "Potty Break" web series as an R&B artist named "The Hawk".[14] Glasper closed out 2019 by composing the original music for the documentaryThe Apollo, which tells the story of theHarlem venue of the same name. Glasper co-wrote and performed the film's end credit song "Don't Turn Back Now" alongsideLedisi.
In 2020, Glasper continued his work on the big screen by writing the score for the filmThe Photograph. Released on February 14, 2020, the film was directed byStella Meghie and starsIssa Rae andLakeith Stanfield. On June 25, 2020, Robert Glasper,Kamasi Washington,Terrace Martin, and9th Wonder announced the formation of a supergroup,Dinner Party. They released a single, "Freeze Tag", followed by their self-titled debut album on July 10, 2020. In March 2020 March Glasper performed at the March On Washington withDerrick Hodge andGeorge Clinton. On August 27 2020, Glasper released "Better Than I Imagined", the first single from his forthcomingBlack Radio 3 album. It featuresH.E.R. andMeshell Ndegeocello. In August 2020, Glasper contributed to thelive streamed recording of the singerBilal's EPVoyage-19, created remotely during theCOVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It was released the following month with proceeds from its sales going to participating musicians in financial hardship from the pandemic. In September 2020, Glasper collaborated withCommon to write and perform the ending theme song for the educationalNetflix showBookmarks, in which Black celebrities and artists read children's books by Black authors to spark meaningful conversations about empathy, equality, justice, self-love, and anti-racism. Presented byMarley Dias, the show features readings byLupita Nyong'o,Jill Scott,Misty Copeland,Karamo Brown and more.
On January 14, 2022, Glasper announced on his Instagram page that on February 25 he would be releasing the third installment in hisBlack Radio series, entitledBlack Radio III.
Glasper's albums are centered on his work as a solo artist, and two bands: The Robert Glasper Trio (on piano Robert Glasper, drummerDamion Reid, and bassistVicente Archer) as an acoustic jazz trio, and The Robert Glasper Experiment (Glasper, drummerMark Colenburg,saxophonist/vocoderistCasey Benjamin andbassistDerrick Hodge) as an electronic act that defies genre norms from any single discipline. "That's what makes this band unique... We can go anywhere, literally anywhere, we want to go. We all have musical ADD and we love it."[15] With primary influences in neo-soul, hip-hop, jazz, gospel, and R&B, Glasper also has reinterpreted songs from rock actsNirvana,Radiohead,Soundgarden, andDavid Bowie.[16] As a jazz artist, Rashod D. Ollison reviewed him after the release ofCanvas as "a gifted jazz musician with a brilliant, energetic technique and a fresh, mesmerizing sense of melody and composition".[17]
Glasper claims that the music of Miles Davis has had a significant influence on his style throughout his career as a musician. Both the soundtrack forMiles Ahead and the tribute albumEverything's Beautiful are clear indications of this influence. Glasper himself said: "I'm obviously influenced by Miles Davis – even just the psyche of how he thinks about music... how he moves through, and always wanted to reflect the times he's in. That's what I'm doing now. He opened that door."[18]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "All Matter"(withBilal) | Best Urban/Alternative Performance | Nominated |
| 2013 | Black Radio | Best R&B Album | Won |
| "Gonna Be Alright (F.T.B.)"(withLedisi) | Best R&B Performance | Nominated | |
| 2015 | Black Radio 2 | Best R&B Album | Nominated |
| "Jesus Children of America"(withLalah Hathaway &Malcolm-Jamal Warner) | Best Traditional R&B Performance | Won | |
| 2016 | Covered: Recorded Live at Capitol Records | Best Jazz Instrumental Album | Nominated |
| 2017 | Miles Ahead | Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media | Won |
| 2021 | Fuck Yo Feelings | Best Progressive R&B Album | Nominated |
| "Better Than I Imagined"(withH.E.R. &Meshell Ndegeocello) | Best R&B Song | Won | |
| 2023 | Black Radio III | Best R&B Album | Won |
| Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical | Nominated | ||
| 2024 | "Back to Love"(withSir &Alex Isley) | Best R&B Performance | Nominated |
| Best R&B Song | Nominated |
| Year released | Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2002 | Mood | Fresh Sound New Talent | Most tracks trio, with Bob Hurst (bass),Damion Reid (drums); two tracks quartet, withBilal (vocals) added; one track quintet with John Ellis (tenor sax),Mike Moreno (guitar) added; one track quintet with Ellis andMarcus Strickland (tenor sax) added[19] | - |
| 2005 | 2005 | Canvas | Blue Note | Most tracks trio, withVicente Archer (bass),Damion Reid (drums); two tracks quartet, withMark Turner (tenor sax) orBilal (vocals) added; one track quintet, with Turner and Bilal added[20] | - |
| 2007 | 2006 | In My Element | Blue Note | Most tracks trio, with Vicente Archer (bass),Damion Reid (drums); one track with Reverend Joe Ratliff (spoken word) added[21] | - |
| 2009 | Double-Booked | Blue Note | Some tracks trio withDerrick Hodge (electric bass),Casey Benjamin (alto sax, vocoder); some tracks quartet, withMos Def orBilal (vocals) added; some tracks trio with Vicente Archer (bass),Chris Dave (drums)[22] | - | |
| 2012 | Black Radio | Blue Note | WithCasey Benjamin (vocoder, flute, sax, synthesizer),Derrick Hodge (bass),Chris Dave (drums, percussion); with Jahi Sundance (turntables) added on some tracks; plus various featured artists[23] | US #15, UK #81 | |
| 2013 | Black Radio 2 | Blue Note | WithCasey Benjamin (sax, synthesizer, vocoder),Derrick Hodge (bass)Mark Colenburg (drums, percussion); plus various featured artists[24] | US #16, UK #86 | |
| 2015 | 2014 | Covered | Blue Note | Most tracks trio, with Vicente Archer (bass),Damion Reid (drums); plus various featured artists[25] | US #190 |
| 2016 | Everything's Beautiful | Columbia/Legacy | uses samples ofMiles Davis | US #152 | |
| 2016 | ArtScience | Blue Note | [26] | US #129 | |
| 2019 | Fuck Yo Feelings | Loma Vista Recordings | WithChris Dave (drums),Derrick Hodge (bass),Affion Crockett,Buddy,Denzel Curry,Terrace Martin, James Poyser,YBN Cordae,Bilal,Herbie Hancock,Mick Jenkins,Yebba,Andra Day,Staceyann Chin, Baby Rose,Rapsody,SIR, B Kelly, Song Bird,Muhsinah, Queen Sheba,Yasiin Bey. | - | |
| 2022 | Black Radio III | Loma Vista Recordings | With featured vocals by Amir Sulaiman,Killer Mike,BJ the Chicago Kid,Big K.R.I.T.,D Smoke,Tiffany Gouché,Q-Tip,Esperanza Spalding,Yebba,H.E.R.,Meshell Ndegeocello,Lalah Hathaway,Common,Musiq Soulchild,Posdnuos,Gregory Porter,Ledisi,Ant Clemons,Jennifer Hudson,PJ Morton,Ty Dolla Sign,India Arie | - |
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