Jazz Articles about Bilal

Robert Glasper: Canvas

by Paul Olson
October 3, 2005

Houston-raised, New York-based pianist Robert Glasper's Blue Note debut is only his second CD as a leader, but one would be hard pressed to find a single argument against his being ready for the big-time jazz limelight. The 67 minutes of music on Canvas are packed with richly memorable compositions, virtuosic playing, unassumingly exotic harmony and superlative group interplay. It's the most startlingly fine debut on Blue Note in quite a while.This is, for the most part, a ...

Robert Glasper: Canvas

by Jim Santella
October 1, 2005

As the paintbrush of modern mainstream jazz takes broader strokes across the canvas of contemporary music, Robert Glasper folds elements from several areas into his art. And that's what makes his performances so interesting.

His first album, Mood (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2004), introduced the pianist as an eclectic artist who takes jazz and blues to heart. The 26-year-old Houston native has made numerous connections in contemporary music circles, and has worked in different modes.

Canvas, however, places ...

Robert Glasper: Canvas

by Chris May
September 29, 2005

Hallelujah! Another exciting young pianist emerges to take the classic piano trio tradition forward. This is Robert Glasper's second album--the first was Mood (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2003)--and at just 26, he is already cooking.

The marketing thrust which accompanies this album makes much of Glasper's supposed membership of the hip-hop massive. Truth is, he's got the locks, and he's the right age, but his music is firmly--gloriously--in the Tyner/Hancock/Jarrett tradition: harmonically and melodically rich, rhythmically virile, and ...