Robert Glasper X Tribute to Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers

Robert Glasper​ is the leader of a new sonic paradigm with a career that bridges musical and artistic genres. To date, he boasts 3 Grammy wins and 8 nominations across 6 categories, and an Emmy Award for his song for Ava Duvernay’s critically hailed documentary “13th” with Common and Karriem Riggins. 

Evolution is his hallmark. Glasper’s breakout crossover album ​Black Radio​ changed the face of the genre and set a new expectation for what popular music could be. The album won him the Grammy for best R&B album and established him as the musician of choice for some of the world’s most iconic artists; notably playing keys throughout Kendrick Lamar's ​To Pimp A Butterfly, ​ winning another Grammy for the elastic track “These Walls”. The ongoing Black Radio series has since become Glasper’s calling card, upholding a place at the heart of a trailblazing community: from long-time sonic brothers Mos Def and Bilal, to legends including Ledisi, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu.  

Glasper’s eternal pursuit to further his sound has been consistent in challenging and transforming his creative horizons across the board. Whether producing a remix album with Kaytranda or as a bandleader, Robert consistently defies the limits of the genre. This is evident in a portfolio that ranges from his acoustic jazz trio; which simultaneously defies and elevates the traditional idiom by uniting it effortlessly with electronics from visionary DJ Jahi Sundance, to August Greene; a collaboration with Common + Karriem Riggins, to R+R=Now; a supergroup at the crossroads of hip-hop and Jazz. 
In the last year alone Glasper has seen a staggering diversity of success. He dropped ​Fuck Yo Feelings​ ; a star-studded mixtape; his first on Loma Vista Records; with features ranging from YBN Cordae to Herbie Hancock to Yebba. He created an original score for the Emmy Nominated doc​ The Apollo ​ and the feature film ​The Photograph​ starring Issa Rae. He led a legendary residency at the Blue Note NYC with 56 sold-out shows in 27 days which saw everyone from Dave Chappelle to Tiffany Haddish, Chadwick Boseman, Q-Tip, Anderson.Paak and Angela Davis join him on and off stage. And, alongside long-time collaborator, co-producer, and creative partner Terrace Martin, he formed another dream team supergroup featuring Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder called Dinner Party, who together wrote and recorded a debut self titled album that was released to rave reviews.  

With boundless innovation and elite technique as his signature it’s no surprise that Glasper has an avalanche of accolades, awards, and achievements to his name - most recently being asked to play at the 2020 March On Washington with Derrick Hodge and funk legend, Sir George Clinton. In August of 2020, Robert released ‘Better Than Imagined’; the first taste of his hotly anticipated forthcoming ​Black Radio 3 ​ album​. ​ Featuring H.E.R and Meshell Ndegeocello, the song advocates for Black love and the power, and responsibility, we have to improve our world; again demonstrating that, above all, Glasper is an artist at the heart of a moment - and a movement - to champion Black music, Black people, and the possibility of a better future. The hip-hop-head-nod ballad is a dedication to just that: the beauty and brilliance of a heritage that is as much Kendrick as it is Coltrane, and which seeks to empower and uplift with every offering.   Both ​Fuck Yo Feelings ​ And ‘Better Than Imagined”  have received Grammy Nominations for the upcoming 2021 Grammy Awards.  

In his own words: 
"Black lives matter and so does black love; no one wants a life without love, but we have generations of people in our community who haven't had the tools to actually be in healthy relationships. It seems like people are finally ready to open their eyes to systemic racism in this country, and if we're going to talk about it, we have to also talk about how it affects our relationships, how we communicate, how we see ourselves, how we treat each other. It's not always good, even though maybe it could be." - Robert Glasper  

 

JOSH EVANS, born and raised in Hartford, CT, was drawn to the trumpet after hearing a Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie recording at the age of 10. Josh began studying with Raymond ‘Dr. Rackle’ Williams and within a year he began performing regularly with Dr. Rackle’s Sound Griot Brass Band. By the age of 14 Evans’ musical career began to take shape when he started to study with and be mentored by the celebrated alto saxophonist/composer, and educator Jackie McLean. Studying under McLean who shared the bandstand with Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Art Blakey, would be pivotal in Josh's career. The experience would blaze the path for performances with Jackie McLean which included New York based venues known as the Blue Note, Iridium, the Regattabar located in Boston, MA, and the Bushnell Center for Performing Arts in Hartford, CT.
 

In April 2005 Josh began a Three and a half year stint with the Winard Harper Sextet, touring the United States performing and conducting master classes. The group personnel, at different points, consisted of Billy Taylor, Frank Wess and George Cables, as well as trumpet players Terrell Stafford, Claudio Roditi and Phillip Harper. The group would also record a wonderful album in 2006, entitled ‘Make it Happen’ for Piadrum Records. In April 2007, Josh was invited to perform a two week tour of Siberia with master saxophonist, and composer Benny Golson. It was during this time period that Evans would also start performing with master Drummer Rashied Ali and would become the bands trumpet player for the next two years. The Rashied Ali Quintet toured 18 different countries and recorded one CD Live in Europe. Josh Evans would play with Rashied Ali until the drummer’s untimely death in 2009. In January 2011, Josh Evans recorded and released his debut album ‘Portrait’. This Album shares Evans influential relationships with Rasieid Ali, Jackie McLean, Raymond Williams, Alan Palmer, and Ralph Peterson.

The 6 foot, Texas raised musician didn’t actually begin his career with the bass, he started as a violinist at Elementary Culture School. Only after his teacher picked him to play the large upright bass, because he was the tallest guy in the class, did he finally find his true calling. Travis was simultaneously a self-proclaimed hip-hop head who was a huge fan of acts like A Tribe Called Quest and loved the local Houston Chopped & Screwed scene birthed by DJ Screw, and didn’t feel confident about pursuing a career as a bassist. It would take a couple of encounters with vibraphonist Stefon Harris throughout his journey before he considered playing on a professional level. He developed his skills for a bit playing with a local orchestra before entering into the Houston jazz scene, and his career quickly took off from there.
Now based in Brooklyn, New York, the 23-year-old Travis is back on the live music scene after a year-long hiatus, and is ready to explore a new musical territory. Certainly not one of the gabbiest, and unsure at first exactly what he could offer our session together, it turned out that he actually was flooded with ideas once we got started, as is true with most musicians when given a chance to talk about the thing that they love most. 

Alto & Soprano saxophonist and bandleader, Jaleel Shaw, won the 2014 Downbeat Critics Poll's for Rising Star Alto Saxophonist. He is a longtime member of the Roy Haynes Quartet, Tom Harrell’s “Colors Of A Dream” and has performed with Christian McBride, Jason Moran, the Mingus Big Band, Pat Metheny, Stefon Harris, Roy Hargrove, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Jimmy Cobb and several others.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Shaw picked up the alto saxophone and surrounded himself with music at an early age. Immersing himself in the local jazz scene, he studied and performed with many of the city's great musicians and educators and, following high school, received a full-tuition scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he received a dual degree in Music Education and Performance. While at Berklee, Shaw was awarded the Billboard Endowed Scholarship for Outstanding Academic and Musical achievement (1998), Woodwind Department Chair Awards (1998 & 2000), The Boston Jazz Society Award (1999) and The Outstanding Student Teacher Award (2000). He later received a scholarship to Manhattan School of Music in New York, where he obtained a Masters Degree in Jazz Performance.

Shaw's debut album, Perspective (2005), received rave reviews from The New York Times and Jazzwise Magazine and All About Jazz named the album one of the top five debut albums of 2005; his composition “The Heavyweight Champion” received an ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award.

In 2006, Jaleel joined the Roy Haynes Quartet and was featured on the legendary drummer’s Grammy-nominated album Whereas. Two years later (2008), Shaw founded his record label, Changu Records, on which he released his second album entitled Optimism. The album received reviews from The New York Times, Downbeat and All About Jazz among others. That same year, he received his second ASCAP Young Composer Award for his composition “The Flipside” and was nominated for the Jazz Journalist Association’s “Up-And-Coming Jazz Artist” award.

Shaw was among the musicians listed in the 2011 JazzTimes Magazine’s Readers Poll for Alto Saxophonist of the Year, sharing the honor with Phil Woods, Lee Konitz, Bunky Green and Kenny Garrett. In 2013, he released his third album of original compositions entitled The Soundtrack of Things to Come (Changu Records). The album features his current working quartet, and has been favorably received by various publications including the New York Times, New York City Jazz Record, and All About Jazz.

Throughout his career, Faulkner has shared the stage with musical luminaries like Kenny Barron, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Peter Nero, Jimmy Heath, Orrin Evans, Ornette Coleman, Sean Jones, Tim Warfield, Bernard Purdie, Pharoah Saunders, Terence Blanchard, Mingus Big Band/Dynasty/Orchestra, Bootsie Barnes, Jacky Terrasson, Terrence Howard, Bilal, Christian McBride and continues to be the drummer of choice for numerous others.
Justin's training began at the Girard Academic High School Music Program (GAMP). At seven years old, his formal education included studying classical percussion with Susan Jones and jazz drums and percussion with Samuel Ruttenberg. Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Ensemble, and Choral Ensemble education at the Kimmel Center created a new understanding of community and the creative ecosystem. The Clef Club of Jazz and the Performing Arts provided freedom of expression for a young musician to find his way. Principal Timpanist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Don Liuzzi, cultivated the detail-oriented nature necessary to craft the full musical experiences Faulkner presents.
As a child prodigy, Justin entered the jazz scene at the tender age of 13, playing his first professional gig with bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma of Ornette Coleman's band Primetime. In the coming years, his apprenticeships with Orrin Evans, J.D. Walter, Boris Kozlov, Bootsie Barnes, Denise King, Michelle Beckham, and The Charles Mingus Big Band would shape the still teenager into a gentleman entering the scene elegantly and with a presence.
On March 19, 2009, his 18th birthday, Faulkner started his tenure with the Branford Marsalis Quartet. Since then, Faulkner has toured the world extensively for the last 11 years. The musical expedition has included performances at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Michener Museum (Doylestown, PA), The Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Jazz at Lincoln Center( New York City), The Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia), The Blue Note Jazz Club (Tokyo, Japan), Royal Opera House (Muscat, Oman), Vienna Konzerthaus (Vienna, Austria), and Concertgebouw (Amsterdam, Netherlands), to name a few.

Born in Gainesville and raised in Miami, FL (1979), Grammy-Award nominated tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland has been active on the New York jazz scene since the 1990s. He developed his chops alongside twin brother, drummer E.J. Strickland, with a uniquely rhythmic sensibility. Brought up by a father who worked as a lawyer and played the drums during his spare time, Marcus learned musical rudiments in the context of drumming, emerging as a uniquely interactive player. Early influences include Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, and Whit Sidener, who helped him hone harmonic knowledge in the context of the saxophone. As a teenager, Marcus transcribed the complex harmonies of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, and learned the culture of playing the saxophone through Branford Marsalis. In 1997, Strickland received a scholarship to study at The New School for Social Research in New York City, earning a B.A. in jazz performance (2002). There, he took Jazz Orchestra Ensemble with Blue Note Records veteran Charles Tolliver and Blakey Ensemble with Coltrane band double bassist Reggie Workman. As a student, Marcus became friends with fellow student pianist Robert Glasper and vocalist Bilal, and a new generation of sound began to take shape. As fate would have it, Bilal introduced Marcus to Slum Village and J Dilla, launching an interest in beat making and new ideas about what it means to create music. Accompanying artists such as Roy Haynes (2002-2005), Jeff “Tain” Waits (2004-2013), and Chris Dave (2013-now), Marcus’ early career focused on mastering the jazz idiom—especially bebop—while reaching into the future. Having played with three drummers that marked time in terms of music development, Marcus’ own eclectic approach to sound advanced in relationship with the groove. Inspired by low-mid register beats, Marcus took up the bass clarinet. Meanwhile, Strickland placed third in the 2002 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, and launched his own music label, Strick Muzik, in 2006. Down Beat magazine’s Critics' Poll named him 'Rising Star on Tenor Saxophone' in 2010 and 'Rising Star on Soprano Saxophone' in 2008. He was also named the 2006 'Best New Artist' by JazzTimes magazine's Reader's Poll. He was signed to Blue Note Records in 2015, and in 2017, was invited to play with bassist Christian McBride’s New Jawn. Strickland has released ten solo recordings to date: People of the Sun (2018); Nihil Novi (2016); Triumph of the Heavy, Vol. 1 & 2 (2011); Idiosyncrasies (2009); Of Song (2009); Open Reel Deck (2007); Twi-Life (2006); Brotherhood (2002), and At Last (2001). Marcus’ band and concept project, Twi-Life, thrives at the intersection of jazz and Hip Hop, and here Strickland becomes beat maker, composer, as well as saxophonist. Playing with the meaning of ‘twilight’ emphasizing the dichotomy as well as connection between day and night, this project stresses the necessity to stretch out artistically, beyond the limits of category or genre. His 2020 music video On My Mind remix featuring Bilal and emcee Pharoahe Monch with street dancer Storyboard P, premiered with Afropunk and won Best Music Video at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and Best Body at the London Music Video Festival, among other accolades. Strickland has performed with McCoy Tyner, Tom Harrell, Nicholas Payton, Wynton Marsalis, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Carnegie Hall Big Band, Dave Douglas, Keyon Harrold, and Mos Def, among others. Marcus’ forthcoming independent album, The Universe’s Wildest Dream, urges for a raising of consciousness about the random and delicate miracle of life on Planet Earth. He spends his time between New York and Miami, where he serves as Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Studio Music at the University of Miami Frost School of Music.