Robert Glasper

Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa Valley Will Feature Robert Glasper, Black Star, Erykah Badu, And More

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The notion of a “jazz music” festival has become about a lot more than just jazz. Like the storied Montreal Jazz Festival and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival that came before it, the brand new Blue Note Jazz Festival in Napa Valley presents the best in jazz music and the hip-hop and R&B artists who are inextricably tied to the genre’s roots. Blue Note’s first outdoor, multi-stage festival will be hosted by Dave Chappelle and features Robert Glasper as the artist-in-residence. Glasper will be performing onstage alongside Erykah Badu, Ledisi, D Smoke, Terrace Martin, and BJ The Chicago Kid. It all goes down at the Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena, CA on July 30th and 31st and the loaded lineup just keeps getting better from there.

Also performing at Blue Note Jazz Festival will be Maxwell, the newly reunited Black Star, Thundercat, and Flying Lotus. But the most intriguing part of the lineup is the jazz and hip-hop collaboration sets: Maurice Brown featuring Anderson .Paak?! The Soul Rebels featuring GZA & Talib Kweli?! Now this is unique curation. Not to mention appearances from Chief Adjuah (fka Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah), Butcher Brown, Keyon Harrold, and late-night DJ sets from Dj Jazzy Jeff and Badu’s DJ Lo Down Loretta Brown alter ego.

Peep the full lineup poster below and stay tuned for tickets which go on sale on 04/26 here.

Blue Note Jazz festival Napa
Blue Note jazz Fest

The Roots, Robert Glasper, And Kamasi Washington Lead The Mostly Free 2022 Montreal Jazz Festival

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One of the finest urban festivals in the world, Montreal Jazz Festival is back for its 42nd year with one of its best lineups ever. The Downtown Montreal celebration will be showcasing over 350 global artists in programming which is mostly free and includes jazz, rock, hip-hop, and so much more. That’s right: two thirds of the programming at MTL Jazz is free to the public in an incredible effort from the Canadian government’s dedication to the arts and longtime sponsors in TD Bank and Rio Tinto.

This year’s lineup is led by The Roots, Tash Sultana, Robert Glasper, Ludovico Einaudi, Kamasi Washington, Pink Martini, Woodkid, and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. It’s a testament to how not only jazz music will be on display in Montreal’s outdoor stages and indoor venues from June 30th to July 9th.

The diversely-minded lineup also features highlights in the multi-talented Masego, New Orleans trumpet player Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, vocalist Gregory Porter, rapper Joey Badass, Brazilian muse Bebel Gilberto, the British jazz-hop of Alfa Mist, singer/violinist Sudan Archives, a nu-jazz collaboration set from Pino Palladino and Blake Mills featuring Sam Gendel and Abe Rounds, plus so much more. This is truly a bucket list-type of festival experience for any music lover that we can’t recommend enough.

Ticketed concerts at Montreal Jazz festival go on sale starting Friday, April 1 at 10 a.m. here. Check out the lineup below.

Montreal Jazz Festival
Montreal Jazz Festival

Robert Glasper’s ‘Tonight Show’ Performance Included Guests Rapsody And DJ Jazzy Jeff

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After announcing the release date for his upcoming album, Black Radio III, and sharing its latest single, “Black Superhero,” Robert Glasper brought the new music to a national television audience with a star-studded appearance on The Tonight Show. Playing a medley of “In Tune” and “Black Superhero” (minus Big KRIT and Killer Mike, two of the three featured guests on the latter), Glasper invited guests Amir Sulaiman, BJ the Chicago Kid, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Rapsody to perform with him.

After Sulaiman opens the set with a passionate spoken-word piece, BJ joins in to sing his verse and the chorus from “Black Superhero,” and Rapsody shows up to add her own verse to the song in place of the missing KRIT and Mike, all while DJ Jazzy Jeff adds his signature scratches and Glasper tickles the ivories. “All my superheroes Black,” Rapsody rhymes as she and BJ bop to the bluesy piano riff and old-school beatbox vibes. It’s a cool rendition of the new track, and should Black Radio III continue the trend that most of Glasper’s music has stuck to, it’ll be a shoo-in for another Progressive R&B Album nomination at the next Grammys.

Watch Robert Glasper’s Tonight Show performance of “In Tune/Black Superhero” above.

Robert Glasper Searches For A ‘Black Superhero’ In His New Video From ‘Black Radio III’

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Grammy-winning producer Robert Glasper returns with a new single to announce the release date for his upcoming album, Black Radio III, which drops February 25 via Concord Loma Vista. The timing couldn’t be better, as 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the original Black Radio album, which earned Glasper his first-ever Grammy for Best R&B Album. After sharing “Better Than I Imagined” featuring HER last year, Glasper follows up today with the video for “Black Superhero.”

Opening with a quote from culture critic Ta-Nehisi Coates and featuring verses from Killer Mike, BJ The Chicago Kid, and Big KRIT, “Black Superheroes” contemplates the everyday heroism of normal people creating a life in a nation where that’s not always the easiest thing to do. Despite the unwelcoming conditions of life in America for many Black Americans, whether they are barbers, politicians, teachers, or even just children, thriving is close enough to a superpower.

The video’s director, Charlie Buhler, offered this explanation in a press release: “‘Black Superhero’ is a visual love letter to the Black community. It’s an ode to our strength, vibrancy, and joy. We have struggled, and yet we are still here, and not only are we here, but we are so much more than the adversity heaped upon us. I am grateful to Robert and the team at Loma Vista for trusting me with such a powerful and important song, and everyone who came together to help bring the concept to life. It was a true labor of love.”

Watch Robert Glasper’s “Black Superhero” video above.

Black Radio III is due 2/25 via Concord Loma Vista. You can pre-order it here.

Robert Glasper And Terrace Martin Are Staging A ‘Dinner Party’ Global Livestream This Weekend

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A four-time Grammy winner, Robert Glasper fluidly straddles the world of jazz, hip-hop and R&B with vigor and class. Last year’s Dinner Party EP with multi-instrumentalist Terrace Martin, saxophonist Kamasi Washington and hip-hop producer 9th Wonder brought Glasper together with like-minded eclectics for one of the best releases of the year. Now, Glasper and Martin have announced a global livestream of a Dinner Party performance going down tomorrow in the U.S. and Saturday in Europe and Australia.

The performance sees an opportunity for fans worldwide who can’t attend Glasper’s ongoing Blue Note jazz club residency in New York City, to engage with his music in a visually stunning, high-fidelity environment presented in 4K UHD and Dolby Atmos sound. Joining Glasper and Martin, are decorated New Orleans trumpet player Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, along with bassist Burniss Travis, drummer Justin Tyson, and DJ Jahi Sundance, who make up the Robert Glasper Trio backing band. Glasper shared some thoughts on the performance in a statement:

“I’m really excited for people to see these shows. People have been asking when I’m coming to their city but I can’t travel everywhere right now, obviously. It was a really cool experience to perform in the space with 3D screens. It looked kind of trippy and fun while we were recording, so I’m looking forward to watching it again and being able to experience it with fans that can’t see me live right now. I hope they have as much fun watching it as we did while recording it.”

The collective played a show together last month, which is also currently available, and both streams will be available for on-demand viewing now until November 30 via On Air. Glasper/Martin Presents Dinner Party happens 10/29 at 8 pm ET and 8 pm PT as well as on 10/30 in London and Sydney at 8 pm in each region. Tickets can be purchased here and the performance will be available On Demand until 11/30.

Watch the trailer for the performance above.