Filed under: Music, Paul | Tags: Christian Scott, Esperanza Spalding, Jazz, Robert Glasper, Soil & "Pimp" Sessions
This thing that we have come to understand as jazz has encompassed a variety of subgenres that have surfaced throughout musical history. Many of these outgrowths were important to the sustainment of one of America’s earliest forms of music. We can take a particular look at the musical path of the original jazz pioneers to understand the evolution of the art form. Adapting and fusing funk, jazz, electric, and rock sounds allowed for Miles Davis’ original love to sustain popularity over the fast-paced cultural explosion and expansion that is American history.
Because of this we gained the smooth jazz styling of George Benson, the funk-fueled sounds of Donald Byrd, and the jazz-inspired hip-hop skills of Digable Planets. What has been relatively absent in the present, particularly in the pop arena, are the older sounds of Hard Bop, Swing and Modal jazz. These sounds made famous by musical geniuses such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane have, in many ways, been removed from a younger audience. What can be seen and heard, however, is the emergence of a new crop of young artists that I believe will fuse the sounds of today to resurrect the sounds of old, whilst maintaining their stylistic roots. (Sidenote: Sooooo yeah…all the artists are defintely not black…but I just really love that song…and I’m black so I can do whatever I want…)
I’ve done a good bit of gushing about the 27-year old pianist already on the blog and don’t expect me to stop anytime soon. From jazz classics (Blue Skies/Irving Berlin) to hip-hop classics (Stakes Is High/De La Soul) Glasper does it all. What is so impressive about his style is that it never strays from the cool jazz styling, a sound made popular by artists such as Bill Evans and Vince Guaraldi. Despite the onslaught of “smooth jazz” fusions, ranging from “A Smooth Sax Tribute to Marvin Gaye” to “A Smooth Jazz Tribute to Amy Winehouse” (seriously what idiot is financing these absurd projects…stop it.), Glasper keeps the music sophisticated and yet relevant. For many jazz fans his sound is akin to the percussive and simplistic playing style of jazz pianist and Pittsburgh-native (Shout Outs to the 412/724!!!!) Ahmad Jamal.
If I could have one thing in the entire world it would be a Robert Glasper J Dilla Tribute…seriously I would never listen to a single record again if that ish came out…
