Robert Glasper’s R+R=NOW, Charles Lloyd and Dr Lonnie Smith boost Blue Note late winter releases
Mike Flynn
Friday, February 26, 2021
Several leading lights of the Blue Note roster release their latest albums
Blue Note is kicking off 2021 in style with a trio of strong releases including a powerful live set from Robert Glasper’s all-star R+R=Now project, iconic saxophonist Charles Lloyd’s Americana-tinged band The Marvels; and a live set from 78-year old Hammond hero Dr Lonnie Smith.
Multi-Grammy winning pianist Glasper’s R+R=Now features the cream of the US hip-hop-jazz scene with Terrace Martin on synths, vocoder and alto saxophone, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah on trumpet, Derrick Hodge on bass, Taylor McFerrin on synth and Justin Tyson on drums, on a set of expansive live performances taped during Glasper’s month-long residency at NYC’s Blue Note Jazz Club in October 2018. The simply titled Live was released on 12 February.
Following this is Charles Lloyd & The Marvels’ Tone Poem on 12 March. It follows the band’s acclaimed 2018 debut, I Long To See You, which featured Lucinda Williams. This second spiritual jazz feast dispenses with the vocal guests for a purely instrumental album.
And rounding out this tasty trio is Breathe, released on 26 March, and featuring celebrated Hammond organist Dr Lonnie Smith. The album is the second that’s drawn from the live sessions at New York’s Jazz Standard club that resulted in Smith’s 2018 album All In My Mind, which marked his being named an NEA Jazz Master as well as his 75th birthday in July 2017. Packed with Smith’s trademark toe-tapping melodies, the album is bookended by two studio collaborations between the keyboardist and legendary rock vocalist Iggy Pop.
See the April issue of Jazzwise (on-sale from 18 March) for reviews of all these albums and for more info visit www.bluenote.com