Robert Glasper Experiment

Photo by Sandy Carson

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  SXSW Showcase Reviews

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  BY CHASE HOFFBERGER

• Charli XCX

  BY LUKE WINKIE

• Robert Glasper Experiment

  BY DAN OKO

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Robert Glasper Experiment

If it weren't for showcase glitches, it wouldn't be South by Southwest. Then again, Blue Note pianist Robert Glasper and his Experiment are riding high on top-selling new release Black Radio, so it seemed a cruel tease that a crowd hungry for his authentic fusion would be nearly foiled by sound problems. Once the soundboard was sufficiently dialed in to kick off the set, Glasper kept a watchful eye on his talented band, featuring drummer Mark Colenburg, bassist Derrick Hodge, and the outstanding Casey Benjamin on vocoder and saxophone. A late start, occasional crackling speakers, and a poorly grounded piano were no match for the stripped-down quartet. It warmed up on John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Then the band drifted to the R&B trip-hop iterations of jazz that Glasper favors, reinventing Roy Ayers' "Tears to a Smile," playing "Lift Off" and "Ah Yeah" from Radio, and closing with a powerful, two-fisted combination of the band's blistering Nirvana cover "Smells Like Teen Spirit." And in tribute to Glasper's late friend and mentor, a J. Dilla medley, a variation on "J Dillalude" that appeared on his 2007 disc In My Element. Solos abounded. A bigger space was warranted.