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Canvas is a superb album with some fine performances by all. But from a jazz standpoint, he scores a major hit. If Glasper intended to draw a hip-hop audience, I'd say he failed miserably. Maybe I'm missing something, but this album is jazz, plain and simple. "So when I give music to the band, I don't dictate it too much, so I can be surprised, too. "I get sick of my own music if I know how it's going to end, how I'm going to play it, Glasper says. That said, the simple fact that Glasper encourages his sidemen to just play, as opposed to following a script, seems to refute any idea that this music has any connection to hip-hop. A few of the songs are more melodious, such as the hauntingly beautiful "Remember, a tribute to Glasper's mother.

To be sure, it's not all old-school jazz so much as it is freely played with acoustic instruments. Vocalist Bilal's muffled presence on "Chant does add an urban flavor, but that hardly affects the whole album. However, on Canvas, I'm just not hearing it. Their own instrumentation maintained the jazz elements, while the presence of a scratcher or hip-hop vocalist represented the other part of the equation. In those cases, the distinctions were quite clear. Artists such as Les McCann, Bob James and Ronnie Laws have melded some elements of hip-hop into their music. Two years later, Blue Note came calling, leading to the creation of Canvas, a collection of nine Glasper originals and one cover: Herbie Hancock's Riot.Ĭertainly, there have been crossover attempts. His first album, 2003's Mood, was released on an independent label. During his development, Glasper played with such artists as Christian McBride, Russell Malone, Kenny Garrett, Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove, Terence Blanchard, Carmen Lundy and Carly Simon. His strongest musical influence was his mother, who sang gospel and played piano in the family's church, as well as playing jazz and blues clubs. Glasper, 26, was reared in Houston, Texas.

And what I hear from my 18-year-old's player is bland at best, exceedingly awful at worst. After all they're the ones who determine what hip-hop the general audiences hear.

Then again, that may be the fault of the marketers, corporate radio executives and television. Not only do I object to the lyrics, I find it musically horrible. Maybe it's on me for not exploring the different approaches to hip-hop, something I'm loathe to do. Of course, the process is more complicated than that, but the resulting sound isn't. Artists tend to follow the same formula: Get a vocalist to sing or rap, a keyboardist for backup, throw in a monotonous bass line and programmed drum patterns, and you're done. On the other hand, there's a sameness to a lot of hip-hop that's out there—not just in the songs by one artist, but also in the genre as a whole. Jazz lovers enjoy the instrumental complexities of their music—the freedom the artists have to play a song differently each time they hit the stage. It's been my experience that hip-hop and jazz are two cultures that simply do not mix. Tenor saxophonist Mark Turner joins the ensemble on two tracks, including the nearly six-and- a-half-minute "Riot, where everyone gets into the groove.īorn in the post-Vietnam era, Glasper identifies with the hip-hop community. Glasper is primarily a pianist, but he also plays Fender Rhodes on three tracks and the kalimba on "Chant. However, the album is a lesson in contradictions—or at least it appears to be. The music is straightforward piano jazz—such as that performed and recorded by McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Andrew Hill, Bud Powell and many others. And it's just a prelude of things to come. This aptly named tune, sure to help many a dreary eye awaken, sizzles from start to finish.

Pianist Robert Glasper's trio—including Vicente Archer on bass and Damion Reid on drums—is as tight as a unit can. Wow! That's the first expression that came to mind when I heard "Rise and Shine, the opening track on Canvas.