SXSW Music Live: Robert Glasper

“We’re gonna start off on some jazz shit,” said Robert Glasper about Monday night’s one-of-a-kind performance. As such, the Houston pianist/producer led bassist Derrick Hodge, sampler and beatboxer Taylor McFerrin (son of Bobby), sax/keys swing vote Terrace Martin, drummer Marcus Gilmore (grandson of Roy Haynes), and trumpet star Christian Scott.

Robert Glasper (Photo by David Brendan Hall)

Under Glasper’s loose leadership, the sextet locked into pockets of groove reminiscent of Seventies jazz funk, letting loose with enough improvisational smarts to give the ethnically diverse but mostly male packed house erections.

Opening with variations on Miles Davis’ “Walkin’,” the group – playing together onstage for the first time – set up the groove then let the soloists fly. Scott’s aggressive, clear tone led, but Martin, best known for his work on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, pitched in with vocoder nonsense and alto sax breaks. Hodge laid down some heavy thrum. Even so, the best solos emanated from the band leader.

His rippling touch on the piano sounded mighty impressive when transferred to a sampled Rhodes. Runs through Herbie Hancock’s “Butterfly” and several completely improvised pieces sounded like lost gems from the early days of CTI Records. By the end of the epic performance, however, the strain started to show.

Once guest rappers Phonte and Dice Raw, and singers Bilal and Anna Wise came onstage, the band favored something simple over which the vocalists could do their thing, lending a monotony to the proceedings. It didn’t help that the show lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours. Fortunately, Glasper righted the ship at the end with a snippet of John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” giving the title chant to the audience to use as exit music.