Robert Glasper Experiment at Birmingham Town Hall - Preview

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Posted 2016-10-21 by Andy Coleman ⇒ follow

Sun 20 Nov 2016

Acclaimed jazz pianist and producer Robert Glasper will be conducting some musical experiments when he visits Birmingham Town Hall on November 20, 2016.

The 38-year-old from Houston, Texas, follows last year's acoustic trio gigs with a new version of his side project, the Robert Glasper Experiment, for the Town Hall show. The band features singer and saxophonist/keyboardist Casey Benjamin, bassist Derrick Hodge and drummer Mark Colenburg, plus a DJ. The tour is in support of their new album, ArtScience, on the Blue Note label.

Robert Glasper is considered one of the most versatile and influential artists today, drawing on jazz, hip hop, R&B and rock for inspiration. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the business, from Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter to J Dilla, Erykah Badu, Kendrick Lamar and Common.

His 2012 album, Black Radio, won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, while his recent work on the soundtrack for the Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead and the subsequent Everything's Beautiful album, featuring original re-interpretations of Miles Davis compositions, alongside his appearance on Kendrick Lamar 's Grammy award-winning album To Pimp A Butterfly, has won wide acclaim.

The Los Angeles Times enthuses: "It's a short list of jazz pianists who have the wherewithal to drop a J Dilla reference into a Thelonious Monk cover but not many jazz pianists are Robert Glasper."

The Robert Glasper Experiment band is known for its innovative blend of jazz mixed with deep hip hop-fuelled grooves and cutting-edge fusion electronic sounds, as well as twisted versions of songs by Nirvana, Radiohead and Herbie Hancock.

Commenting on the forthcoming Town Hall show, Mary Wakelam-Sloan, Jazzlines Manager at THSH, says: "We're delighted to be presenting Robert Glasper in Birmingham. He is without doubt one of the world's leading contemporary artists. His recent work on the Miles Davis projects and with Kendrick Lamar has been brilliant and I can't wait to hear the new version of his Experiment band."