b. Robert Glasper, 6th April 1978, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
in the groups:
Robert Glasper Experiment:
Casey Benjamin (saxophonist: b. New York City, New York, U.S.A.)
Mark Colenburg (drums)
Derrick Hodge (bass)
and
Robert Glasper (keyboards: b. 6th April 1978, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.)
also:
Robert Glasper Trio:
Damion Reid (drums: b. 16th June 1979, West Covina, California, U.S.A.)
Robert Glasper (keyboards: b. 6th April 1978, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.)
and
Vicente Archer (bass)
Robert Glasper is an American Jazz keyboard player and producer, who hails from Houston, Texas.
His work is highly regarded on the modern jazz scene, with this artist viewed as a major ‘mover and shaker’ within the genre.
Robert’s mother, Kim Yvette Glasper, was a performer in her own right, and was the music director at the East Wind Baptist Church.
Encouraged by his mother, Robert first performed at the church to the congregation.
He attended the Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas.
Robert also attended the the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in the Montrose District in Houston and later attended the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City.
Whilst in Houston, Robert met the singer Bilal Oliver.
Bilal helped bring a Hip Hop aspect to Robert’s own Jazz influences.
The duo began collaborating with each other musically, leading to further collaborations with the likes of Mos Def, Q-Tip, Kanye West, Meshell Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Common and Maxwell.
mood - 2004 / canvas - 2005 / in my element - 2007 / double booked - 2009
In 2004, Robert released his debut album ‘Mood’ for the Fresh Sound New Talent imprint.
The album featured Robert’s take on the Herbie Hancock evergreen ‘Maiden Voyage’.
In 2005, he had switched labels to Blue Note Records, for the release of ‘Canvas’.
‘Canvas’ featured another Herbie Hancock cover, in the form of ‘Riot’.
In 2006, he released his third album, namely ‘In My Element’.
Robert performed tracks dedicated to his mother (‘Tribute’), along with another Herbie Hancock cover.
His 2009 album ‘Double-Booked’ featured contributions from The Roots drummer Questlove, along with contributions from Bilal and Mos Def.
black radio - 2011 / black radio 2 - 2013 / covered - 2015 / everything's beautiful - 2016
In 2012, Robert released ‘Black Radio’, which became his most successful album to date.
‘Black Radio’ featured performances by Lupe Fiasco, Bilal, Lalah Hathaway and Yasiin Bey.
The album won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 55th Grammy Awards.
A year later he released ‘Black Radio 2’, with Lupe Fiasco, Bilal and Lalah Hathaway featuring again.
In 2015, his group The Robert Glasper Trio (featuring Damion Reid, Robert Glasper and Robert Hurst), released the album ‘Covered’, which was an album of several instrumental cover versions.
In 2016, he released an album collaboration, dedicated (and retrospectively featuring) to the late Miles Davis, entitled ‘Everything’s Beautiful’.
The album featured guest performances by the artists, Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Phonte, John Scofield, Ledisi, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Laura Mvula, Hiatus Coyote and his friend Bilal.
Robert has performed at many global jazz festivals over the last decade.
He cites his musical influences as Mulgrew Miller, J Dilla, Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, Radiohead and Herbie Hancock.
albums:
Mood (Fresh Sound New Talent Records 2004)
Canvas (Blue Note Records 2005)
In My Element (Blue Note Records 2007)
Double-Booked (Blue Note Records 2009)
Black Radio (Blue Note Records 2012)
Black Radio Recovered: The Remix EP (Blue Note Records 2012)
Black Radio 2 (Blue Note Records 2013)
Covered (Blue Note Records 2015)
Everything's Beautiful (with Miles Davis) (Columbia Records 2016)
ArtScience (Decca Records 2016)
