Rehearsing The Blues

"A Man Of Many Dimensions": Interview With Robert Glasper

Note: I conducted this interview for Nextbop, and you should check it out there if you have the time. I wrote a nice little introduction and everything, so it's totally worth it, Click here. Click it. Here.

---

Nextbop: Thank you very much for doing this. I know you must have a busy schedule.

Robert Glasper: No problem.

NB: Well, let's just get into it. First question is, what was your mission making Black Radio? What did you want the music community to know when they saw this record in the music store and listened to it for the first time?

RG: That I'm a man of many dimensions, and many sides. Now I'm just exploring my more hip-hop/soul side, but still jazz-infused. So really this is like a good collaboration album of hip-hop, soul, jazz... You know. I think I'm the first one to actually do it right.

The Jazz Internet, Part 2: Peter Hum

This is the second installment in a series of interviews with jazz critics and bloggers on the topic of the internet as a medium for jazz writing.

Peter Hum, who is also a pianist, writes for the Ottawa Citizen, producing Jazzblog.ca, the newspaper's, well, jazz blog. His is one of the few blogs dealing purely with jazz to be affiliated with a major North American newspaper, and is, along with Ben Ratliff and Nate Chinen (of the New York Times) one of the biggest names in newspaper writing for the jazz community. I spoke with him via e-mail about the way that the blog format, and the internet, has changed the art of jazz criticism.

JW: Okay. This is the first in a series dealing with the way the internet and jazz writing interact, and the ways that the internet has changed that writing. Your blog is written for the Ottawa Citizen, a major Canadian newspaper. Let's start at the baseline - why did you choose the online medium for your work?

The Jazz Internet, Part 1: Josh Jackson

---

This is the first installment in a series of interviews with jazz critics and bloggers on the topic of the internet as a medium for jazz writing.

Josh Jackson, of WBGO, is a bit of an anomaly in this series. He doesn't write about jazz, he broadcasts it, and his view of the internet as a medium for jazz is therefore very different from the rest of my interviewees. But it's an interesting view, and an essential one. The transition from radio to the internet is complex, and many of its facets translate into the wider internet transition of the jazz community. Read on:

JW: Josh, your work for WBGO (including Live At The Village Vanguard with NPR and The Checkout) obviously relies on the internet a good deal, for streaming audio, etc. A good place to start this interview off might be just for me to ask for your own perception of how the internet has shaped your work in jazz, both in terms of how and what you can produce.

Jazz Famous (with David Prentice)

^What jazz critics look like when other jazz critics are talking.

Jon Wertheim: Dave, what are your criteria for a great artist? As we review new records and go to shows by contemporary jazz players, there's always a temptation to predict the next Monk, the next Mingus, the next Miles. Should this temptation be followed?

David Prentice: Ah, what a frustrating question. Well, as somewhat of a critic, I do think that critics should exercise caution when trying to predict who will be a great artist. Critics have an influence on what people listen to. I chose to listen to Ambrose [Akinmusire] because critics were saying big things about the record. You need to just to hear for yourself. Now, I totally agree that Ambrose is worth the praise, but what if the critics were wrong? I just spent all my time listening to a guy who isn't good when I could have directed my attention to someone who is truly great.

I guess I'm more a fan of descriptive criticism rather than prescriptive criticism. I don't like to talk about good and bad. When something isn't working, I'll explain why. When something is, I'll explain how it works. And otherwise, there are so many aspects of music to analyze that assessing the value of certain artists feels like a waste of time.

But I realize merely avoiding the question is completely unsatisfactory. We listen with the hope of discovering the truly great artists. That's part of the pursuit. So it would be fitting to come up with a definition of a great artist -- something that's objective as possible. And I think this objective method exists, but it would be hair-pullingly difficult to nail out. And even when one person may be objectively right, people will rarely agree.

Questions For Phil McGowan

Long before I decided to switch from the drums to the saxophone, I wanted to play another instrument. Why? Because I wanted to play on a session with drummer Phil McGowan, longtime member of the Ahmad Hassan Muhammad trio and regular of many music scenes (he's played with Trent Austin, Phil Grenadier, Duncan and Kyle Hardy, and many others). When I make my first record on the horn, I want Phil! I knew this cat was smart behind the set, but after reading these questions, I can tell you that Phil is smart all around. 

Guitar Player

David Prentice, guest writer at RTB, did what turned out to be a controversial blindfold test for me in 2010. Some of Dave's remarks on Jonathan Kreisberg's playing have, at Mr. Kreisberg's insistence, been edited. While we at RTB feel that Dave was well within his critical rights, we respected Mr. Kreisberg's wishes as far as we felt we could. Enjoy what's left, and if you feel like something's missing, well, you know who to call.

Questions For Chris Van Voorst Van Beest

Bassist Chris Van Voorst Van Beest spent some time in my hometown of Brunswick, Maine, and I've followed his progress from there off and on through the years. But I'd lost touch with where Chris was musically until I heard Walter Smith III and Mark Small's record Bronze. His playing on that record, which I recommend to anyone and everyone, got me looking for the bassist again. I found him, and asked him questions.

G-Force

A little while ago, I sat down with myself to talk about Kenny G. Read on.

Background Music

Dan Glaude, with whom I've been playing for about five years, plays the alto saxophone, the clarinet, the bass clarinet, and the soprano saxophone, as well as the EWI. I included all of his instruments (save the EWI - I mean, come on) in this blindfold test. All through the test, he had two things in the front of his mind -rhythm and sound - and he really carries those concepts through his thinking about each track.

Hip Enough, Happy Enough

Clarinetist Brad Terry is a mentor, a friend, and an amazing musical resource. We sat down for this interview in 2009.