Clocks Go Forward With Robert Glasper At Charlie Wright's
Monday, March 31, 2008
The last night of a short British tour found the Robert Glasper trio in the fairly louche surroundings of Charlie Wright’s International Bar in Hoxton. The north London neighbourhood, where the club is located, on any given Saturday night is buzzing with a young fashionable crowd trawling the bars and clubs, looking for the next big thing and many made their way on Saturday to Charlie Wright’s, newly reopened after a refurbishment.
With its funky vibe, a mellow multicultural crowd crammed in, craning not to miss a beat from the trio. A far cry from the hushed concert
hall setting, a TV with music videos flickering over the bar
soundlessly, Charlie’s provides a glitterball alternative to a few
upmarket jazz clubs that can bland out the atmosphere in the hunt for
filthy lucre and the quest for fine dining.
Glasper was clearly preparing for a fun night, happily talking to many fans in the audience during the break and obliging one gig-goer by posing behind the bar for a photo with the club proprietor who likes to be known as “Charlie”, according to the club’s artistic director Zhenya Strigalev, who did the announcing before Glasper, bassist Alan Hampton and drummer Chris Dave took to the stage. With a dappled, frequently cartoonish approach, the first set showed not a little promise although the band did not really settle until late on. Second number ‘No Worries’, said Glasper, was so titled because “when I come to the UK I hear ‘no worries’ all the time’. It summed up the spirit of the set and the evening. While all three had an obvious rapport, the duo of Glasper and old Houston school friend Dave provided most of the momentum, with Dave’s fizzing fastness and Glasper’s gradual expansiveness the main interest.
After a 45-minute break Dave had to be coaxed back to the bandstand, after chatting happily to a friendly waitress but the set was much improved: full of virtuosic broken beats, an elasticity of rhythmical ideas and a means of connecting with both Hampton and Glasper that pushed the set to new levels. Glasper, clad in a T Shirt emblazoned with the words “Hip Hop Junkie”, obliged with Hancockian stretches (‘Dolphin Dance’ later), the odd anthemic section showing through and above all the contoured sophistication of someone who has immersed himself in jazz piano traditions with an ear for hip hop. But there was little evidence of hip hop in the first set and not much more in the second although the winningly delayed swinging momentum the trio provided was as effortless as it was impressive and you could tell that the music could go in different directions if the need arose. An enjoyable night for all concerned and the rebirth of a venue that is set for some high profile visitors, copious jamming, and some serious hanging out.
Stephen Graham
Glasper was clearly preparing for a fun night, happily talking to many fans in the audience during the break and obliging one gig-goer by posing behind the bar for a photo with the club proprietor who likes to be known as “Charlie”, according to the club’s artistic director Zhenya Strigalev, who did the announcing before Glasper, bassist Alan Hampton and drummer Chris Dave took to the stage. With a dappled, frequently cartoonish approach, the first set showed not a little promise although the band did not really settle until late on. Second number ‘No Worries’, said Glasper, was so titled because “when I come to the UK I hear ‘no worries’ all the time’. It summed up the spirit of the set and the evening. While all three had an obvious rapport, the duo of Glasper and old Houston school friend Dave provided most of the momentum, with Dave’s fizzing fastness and Glasper’s gradual expansiveness the main interest.
After a 45-minute break Dave had to be coaxed back to the bandstand, after chatting happily to a friendly waitress but the set was much improved: full of virtuosic broken beats, an elasticity of rhythmical ideas and a means of connecting with both Hampton and Glasper that pushed the set to new levels. Glasper, clad in a T Shirt emblazoned with the words “Hip Hop Junkie”, obliged with Hancockian stretches (‘Dolphin Dance’ later), the odd anthemic section showing through and above all the contoured sophistication of someone who has immersed himself in jazz piano traditions with an ear for hip hop. But there was little evidence of hip hop in the first set and not much more in the second although the winningly delayed swinging momentum the trio provided was as effortless as it was impressive and you could tell that the music could go in different directions if the need arose. An enjoyable night for all concerned and the rebirth of a venue that is set for some high profile visitors, copious jamming, and some serious hanging out.
Stephen Graham