Jason Moran (l) and Robert Glasper
Jez Nelson introduces a special duo concert from two of America’s biggest piano stars
The Blue Note all-stars that headlined the label’s 75th birthday celebrations at last year’s EFG London Jazz Festival were good, but it was the opening duo who stole the show. Jason Moran and Robert Glasper both hail from Houston, Texas and are Blue Note fixtures, but they have very different approaches to the music. Moran draws inspiration from the visual arts and arguably has a more conceptual, compositional focus, as witnessed by his impactful score for the new Martin Luther King biopic, Selma. Glasper is as lauded in nu-soul, hip hop and R&B as he is for acoustic jazz and has made his name blurring those boundaries whilst honing his art. We’ve featured both, in various settings, many times on Jazz on 3 - but never together.
To explore into these musical influences a little more I put the pair to the MP3 shuffle test before the show, delving at random into the music they take with them on the road – it’s a treat, especially if you’re into your gospel singers. And the importance to both of them of vocalists in general really shone through, Moran saying that he often asks himself, in the middle of a performance, ‘How would Mary J Blige sing this phrase?’.
The prospect of two modern Blue Note heroes, pianos kissing, strolling through the vaults of the great label’s catalogue, was an enticing thought and they didn’t disappoint. Beginning with a tribute to the first piano stars of Blue Note - Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis, they moved from boogie woogie through abstracted sections under-pinned by Moran’s tamperings inside the piano to some timeless Herbie Hancock themes. I never tire of hearing the simple beauty of 'Maiden Voyage' but it was Glasper’s teasing around Hancock’s soul-fusion classic 'Trust Me' that really got me.
The duo have taken this show around the world and you get the sense it’s a fun thing to do every night – you won’t see this on the radio but Robert Glasper even treated us to a few ballet steps. It's a snapshot of two fine modern pianists enjoying their own and each other’s playing whilst revelling in one of the greatest recording legacies in music history.
Also in the programme, staying with the classic albums theme, singer Juliet Kelly visits a new night that involves playing seminal recordings to a paying audience, and we've brand new sounds from another of America’s most heralded piano players Vijay Iyer, with music from his new trio album.
Tune in to hear all of this on Jazz on 3 this Monday 16 February at 11pm or listen online for 30 days after broadcast.
Jez
If you have comments about the show, or requests for music you’d like to hear, do get in touch at jazzon3@bbc.co.uk or on twitter at @BBCJazzon3
