Jazz Articles about Bilal

Bilal at Village Underground at the 2025 EFG London Jazz Festival

by Nosa Malcolm
November 28, 2025

The first thing to understand about Bilal is this; there are no boundaries to where he can take his voice, and this night was no exception. With the annual EFG London Jazz Festival bringing a plethora of talent over a two-week period and covering most of London, Village Underground, with its brick walls and stripped back aesthetic, felt like a venue suited to a night of raw musical excellence. Surrounded by people in awe and intimate enough to feel like ...

Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Walk A Mile In My Shoe

by Steve Plever
August 4, 2025

A glance through the track list--with covers of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye and two swing-era vocal standards--could give you the wrong impression. Yes, this is a very accessible and soulful album, but it is serious and heartfelt jazz, with Orrin Evans' personal stamp making it work. Blues, soul and gospel sounds share the stage here with swing, straight-ahead and avant-garde influences--no surprise given Evans' decade of playing with the Mingus Big Band. Evans' piano sets the tone ...

Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Walk A Mile In My Shoe

by Angelo Leonardi
October 25, 2024

Il nuovo disco di Orrin Evans e della sua Captain Black Big Band ci ricorda l'importanza delle radici per la comunità musicale afroamericana: il gospel, il blues, le big band, i cantanti e strumentisti storici. Una risorsa che è anche identità collettiva e forza culturale. Come ha sempre fatto in passato, il pianista e bandleader di Philadelphia s'ispira alla tradizione per rinnovarla e arricchirla, con passione e freschezza. Stavolta le orchestrazioni sono funzionali alle interpretazioni di quattro prodigiosi ...

Robert Glasper: Canvas

by Chris May
March 20, 2020

Of the three dozen albums released in Blue Note's 180gm vinyl Blue Note 80 reissue series, Robert Glasper's 2005 debut, Canvas, is the only one recorded in the twenty-first century. Almost all of the other releases were recorded during Blue Note's 1950s and 1960s belle epoque. It is a singular distinction and an appropriate one, for several reasons. Top of the list is Glasper's place in jazz's piano trio lineage. Since Bill Evans elevated piano trios to ...

Robert Glasper: Canvas

by Abe Pollack
March 3, 2006

Many young jazz musicians are no strangers to pop music. More familiar with Radiohead's Kid A and Public Enemy than Jerome Kern or Cole Porter, they have become increasingly more adventurous in an attempt to make jazz a commodity for the 21st Century. Unlike glossy pop covers from the '80s, Robert Glasper uses subtlety to explore late-20th Century music. This is no surprise. Having performed with Q-Tip, Bilal and Meshell Ndegeocello, Glasper finds comfort and room to ...

Robert Glasper: Canvas

by Mark F. Turner
October 5, 2005

In addition to unveiling gems from the past like John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk's At Carnegie Hall, Blue Note continues to spotlight the musicians of present with recordings like Robert Glasper's Canvas. Similar to Jason Moran, Jacky Terrasson, and Bill Charlap, who also record for Blue Note, Glasper has the vision and ability to create a fresh statement within the jazz piano idiom. Following on the heels of his well received 2004 debut, Mood, this recording continues to reveal his ...

Robert Glasper: Canvas

by Woodrow Wilkins
October 4, 2005

Robert Glasper Canvas Blue Note Records 2005

Wow! That's the first expression that came to mind when I heard “Rise and Shine, the opening track on Canvas. Pianist Robert Glasper's trio--including Vicente Archer on bass and Damion Reid on drums--is as tight as a unit can. This aptly named tune, sure to help many a dreary eye awaken, sizzles from start to finish. And it's just a prelude of things to come.The ...