by Rachel Goldstein
If you think you haven’t heard the Robert Glasper Experiment before, think again. The Experiment has played with the likes of chart topping artists ranging from Erykah Badu, Kendrick Lamar, Hiatus Kaiyote, Kanye West and Snoop Dogg all the way to Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock and Norah Jones. With a leader like Glasper, there is truly no limit to what this group can and will achieve. After releasing Black Radio 1 and 2 in 2012 and 2013 respectively, the Robert Glasper Experiment did not fail to live up to expectations with their follow up album and latest musical project, ArtScience. The band tastefully fuses countless facets and genres of music together seamlessly, from their deep jazz roots phasing into, and not shying away from, hints of prog rock, electronic, pop, hip-hop, funk, soul and R&B. Glasper and his band mates somehow cover it all and make it sound effortless in the process. Unlike their previous projects, ArtScience stands out for a big reason — this album has no featured vocalists. All members, including saxophonist and vocalist Casey Benjamin, drummer Mike Colenburg, bassist Derrick Hodge and Glasper himself, wrote and produced, and everyone sings. Everything about this album transcends the way we think about music. The opening song, “This Is Not Fear,” takes off full steam ahead right off of the bat. A minute and a half into it there’s a beat change that poses a purposefully stark contrast to the first minute of the song. This intro is just a little taste of what you’re in for when you embark on the musical journey that is ArtScience. From “You And Me,” an original song oozing with equal parts love and ache, to a 7 minute cover of Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me A Bedtime Story,” each song will leave you feeling something different and new and will leave you amazed at the sheer musical brilliance. You will not regret diving into all that is the Robert Glasper Experiment. Don’t miss their upcoming show in our downstairs room on Tuesday, June 20th – tickets are moving fast!
