I went to hear Robert Glasper Experiment at The New Parish in Oakland earlier this evening. Superbly excellent concert and if you missed them, you can see them at Brick and Mortar in San Francisco today but they may be sold out as I am writing this entry. His stellar band included Casey Benjamin on vocals and mastering a whole slew of instruments, Derrick Hodge on electric bass, Mark Collenburg tearing up the drums and special guest, Bilal on vocals. Glasper takes his strong roots in jazz and throws them in the blender with hip-hop and other influences. The result is a damn tasty mix of music. Glasper and the band featured new music from his recent release, Black Radio, which is blowing up the airwaves. It made me smile when I ordered this album on Amazon and it was backordered. Glasper will be on The Jay Leno Show on Monday night. I will have to stay up to watch.
Expect the unexpected. The first thing Glasper did when he took the stage was have them turn down the lights. I was actually hoping to get a few photos but the lights were low. iPhone’s were getting better light than me. I took the photo above with my best low light lens and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome when I got home.
Thank you, Robert Glasper Experiment, for a wonderful evening of music I and really hope you come back this way again soon.