- Black Radio · 2011
- Black Radio 2 (Deluxe Version) · 2013
- Black Radio · 2012
- Black Radio · 2012
- Black Radio · 2012
- Black Radio · 2012
- Black Radio · 2012
- Black Radio · 2012
- Black Radio 2 (Deluxe Version) · 2013
- Black Radio 2 (Deluxe Version) · 2013
- Black Radio 2 (Deluxe Version) · 2013
- Black Radio · 2012
- Black Radio · 2012
Essential Albums
- Robert Glasper’s triumphant fourth Blue Note album, Black Radio, has the spirit of an after-hours hang and the thoughtful preparation and sharp execution of a studio effort. After making two acoustic trio albums for the vaunted label, the pianist/keyboardist introduced his Experiment band on the second half of 2009’s Double Booked. On Black Radio, Experiment saxophonist/flautist/vocoder player Casey Benjamin, bass guitarist Derrick Hodge, and drummer/percussionist Chris Dave are back, as are guest vocalists Bilal and Mos Def (now going by yasiin bey). They’re joined by a slew of similarly open-eared, jazz-informed contributors, from Erykah Badu (on a buoyant version of the Mongo Santamaria standard “Afro Blue”) to Meshell Ndegeocello and Lupe Fiasco. Lalah Hathaway can be heard on the two most recognizable covers—handling lead vocals on Sade’s “Cherish the Day” and trading dreamy, wordless crooning with Benjamin’s vocoder-aided vocals on an extended outro to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Singles & EPs
About Robert Glasper Experiment
The Robert Glasper Experiment is the electric, pan-genre project headed by cutting-edge jazz pianist Robert Glasper. Born in Houston, TX, in 1978, Glasper studied music in New York, where he became a vital part of the jazz scene. He released his first album in 2002 and mostly worked in the traditional jazz piano trio format until 2009. That year, he split his album Double Booked between his trio and the Robert Glasper Experiment, the latter billing including bass guitar, electric keyboards, sax, and guests on vocals and turntables. Instead of the post-bop style he explored with his trio, the Experiment freely mixed elements of R&B, hip-hop, and jazz fusion into the recipe. Glasper continued working in the Experiment format on his next two releases, the Grammy-winning Black Radio and the Grammy-nominated Black Radio 2. He returned to his trio setup after that, but he worked with the Experiment once more on 2016’s ArtScience, and he has also been an in-demand session man for rappers Mac Miller and Kendrick Lamar, among others.
- FROM
- United States of America
- FORMED
- 2007
- GENRE
- Jazz