Album Review: Robert Glasper – Double Booked (2009)
Rating: 4 out of 5 Potholes

Buy Now! Robert Glasper – Double Booked

Young jazz musicians are in a tough spot. Not only are forced to compete with the musical legacies of legendary players like Thelonius Monk, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, etc., but they are have to worm their way past the damage done to the tradition by the smooth jazz movement of the 70s and 80s, and still, somehow, manage to find their own musical space to dwell within – a way to differentiate themselves musically.

Glasper is a pretty young guy, probably in his 30s at first glance, one of the few who wasn’t swept away by the allure of hip hop’s emergence in the 80s. On his album, Double Booked, he jumps in with his trio and gives a solid lesson in why jazz might not be as aged as it seems, and why a return to full bands looms as the next big thing in the realm of the African American musical experience.

It’s sort of strange to hear an album that opens with introducing the players in the band, a well-established tradition in jazz clubs across the world. It’s a reminder of how much jazz is sampler- or synth-driven these days. There’s less cooperation in music these days than there used to be. If the album is truly live, and not just set up that way by the intro phone message, then it would be nice to hear a little bit of crowd noise, at least between tracks. The result without leaves everything feeling a little too sterile at times – like these songs are eliciting no response from those in attendance.

The trio are well-versed in a variety of styles, and their playing is tight, skillfully navigating from smooth and melodic to more avant-garde moments that never wander into complete dissonance, but whose deft percussion isn’t afraid to dance all over the complex melodic musings laid down by Glasper’s deft finger work on the keys.

The eclectic compositions are evident throughout, particularly on the first track, “No Worries”, and again during a solo on the piano journey “Yes I’m Country (and that’s o.k.)”, which alternates between poetic, musical scenes similar in style to George Winston or Keith Jarrett, before dipping briefly into more progressive Don Cherry territory as the sound spills into fits of anarchy before rising back to sweeter arrangements.

“Downtime” is also a shining moment on the album, borrowing on more minor chord arrangements for a crisp late night feel with an even-keeled temperament. Having fully established the tone of the record as a well-educated lesson in the spectrum of traditional jazz styles, the album flips, after another phone message, the double bass gives way to an electric, suddenly there are horns, vocoders and vocalists introduced into the mix. Stylistically we jump ahead a decade or two – the “trio” becomes the “experiment” and we all begin wandering through the intersection of a funk-jazz fusion. Mos Def and Bilal stop by, and the journey of the album from beginning to end becomes a poignant trek mimicking the path of music over the course of the last 50-60 years.

“Butterfly” has a frantic, syncopated pulse that sounds like Dilla covering a Weather Report song with Bruce Haack. “Festival” pushes back into cool jazz territory – think Kind of Blue era Miles.

While the sudden change in tone and lineup on the second half of the record is refreshing, and testament to Glasper’s versatility, it can get tired at points too. “For You” is an example of that. It seems almost lazy at times in comparison to the rest of the record. It’s got a little too much lounge lizard, and not quite enough gusto, particularly some of the percussion. But, then the last track, “Open Mind”, which incorporates a DJ cutting in vocal snippets over brooding piano lines, comes in and rinses away any lingering questions that this is a unique record worthy of close study.

In all, Double Booked is a grownup record. This is a record that is meant to be listened to properly. Not as background music, but with distinct appreciation for the complexity of the skill involved in creating it.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 6:21 pm and is filed under Album Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.