Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Robert Glasper: Canvas

171

Robert Glasper: Canvas

By

View read count
Robert Glasper: Canvas
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 him squarely in the middle of the mainstream. Here, the pianist kneads his original compositions like dough to shape them in the form of serious jazz that's intended to provoke reflection. His pensive and moody creations allow much room for spiritual interaction.

Herbie Hancock's "Riot" differs from the rest of the program. With this upbeat piece, Glasper and Mark Turner lift the album's mood considerably and swing with enthusiasm. Elsewhere, the pianist and his musical partners seem contented with Adult Contemporary moods that cast a long shadow.

Driving forcefully in several places but relaxing through most of this program, Glasper often takes it nice and easy. At times like this, he's easy on the ears and gentle on the mind. Don't look for a wakeup call among these smooth adventures. For the most part, Canvas provides landscape scenery befitting cool green pastures where the motion of the wind against wildflowers creates a modicum of excitement.

Track Listing

Rise And Shine; Canvas; Portrait Of An Angel; Enoch's Meditation; Centelude; Jelly's Da Beener; Chant; Riot; North Portland; I Remember.

Personnel

Mark Turner
saxophone, tenor
Bilal
vocals

Robert Glasper: piano, Fender Rhodes, kalimba; Vicente Archer: bass; Damion Reid: drums; Mark Turner: tenor sax (2,8); Bilal: vocals (8,10).

Album information

Title: Canvas | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Robert Glasper Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.