Robert Glasper: In My Element (Blue Note, 2007)
Houston-born pianist Robert Glasper deepens the link between jazz and hip-hop on his aptly titled second album for Blue Note. Glasper established himself here as enviably conversant in the jazz piano vernacular, with a fleet-fingered style all his own, while also giving the nod—presciently, it turns out—to J Dilla, the hip-hop producer who died in 2006 and has influenced a generation of young jazz musicians. This album, which features bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Damion Reid, and includes a tune called “J Dillalude,” bore out that connection early.
