“The Vibe” Robert Glasper Experiment at San Francisco Jazz Festival at The Palace of Fine Arts

Pianist and composer Robert Glasper is on a mission to reconcile modern jazz with hip-hop and R&B. And his latest Blue Note recording, Black Radio, is a bold manifesto. The album is an incisive commentary on urban music, weaving together the disparate strands of a career that took off shortly after he migrated from Houston to New York City in the mid-90s. Glasper became a go-to keyboardist for some of the era’s defining hip hop and R&B stars, touring as music director for Mos Def and appearing with Kanye West, Erykah Badu, Meshell Ndegeocello, Jay-Z and Maxwell. At the same time, Glasper made a name for himself as an insightful post-bop pianist through stints with jazz masters such as Russell Malone, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove and Terence Blanchard...

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Pianist and composer Robert Glasper is on a mission to reconcile modern jazz with hip-hop and R&B. And his latest Blue Note recording, Black Radio, is a bold manifesto. The album is an incisive commentary on urban music, weaving together the disparate strands of a career that took off shortly after he migrated from Houston to New York City in the mid-90s. Glasper became a go-to keyboardist for some of the era’s defining hip hop and R&B stars, touring as music director for Mos Def and appearing with Kanye West, Erykah Badu, Meshell Ndegeocello, Jay-Z and Maxwell. At the same time, Glasper made a name for himself as an insightful post-bop pianist through stints with jazz masters such as Russell Malone, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove and Terence Blanchard. He’s released a series of accomplished sessions, including 2009’s Double Booked, which contrasted his acoustic straight-ahead trio tracks with the slinky, plugged-in funk of the Experiment — a telepathic ensemble featuring saxophonist and vocalist Casey Benjamin, bassist Derrick Hodge and influential drummer Chris “Daddy” Dave. Standing in for Dave on this date is the phenomenal Mark Colenburg. Poised to become the next instrumental superstar, Robert Glasper is truly the sound of now.

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