I went to the Canal Room last night, mainly because I have a piece pending in Slate about hip-hop’s “hidden” influence on jazz, in which I discuss the work of pianist Robert Glasper. The Canal Room event was in part a 15th anniversary celebration for Giant Step, the underground dance party series turned “internationally respected brand.” The Brit superstar DJ Gilles Peterson was on the bill, and so was Glasper.
Peterson did a fantastic DJ set, during which I had the good fortune of being pressed against the booth, practically staring him in the face. Never have I had a closer look at DJing as an art form. At one point, Peterson had people dancing in fast 6/8 time. A master of delayed gratification, he’d create atmospherics and merely hint at the beat for a while, finally unleashing a wave of crushing bass that would send the room into a frenzy.
But here’s what happened right after Peterson’s set. As his last track played, Gilles took to the front stage and announced Robert Glasper’s trio as the track faded out. The segue was immediate: from Peterson’s cutting-edge dance music to Glasper’s “Jelly’s Da Beener,” from his new Blue Note disc Canvas. (Vicenter Archer played bass, Damion Reid drums.) The crowd turned to face front, listened attentively and enthusiastically, applauded every solo and even moved their bodies the same way they did to the DJ stuff. Bear in mind, Glasper did not modify his music to cater to this crowd. He was playing exactly what he’ll be playing in early November at the Village Vanguard. The second tune, faster and more intense, featured Casey Benjamin on alto sax and Keyon Harrold on trumpet. Same thing: The crowd loved it.
Glasper’s trio served as the house band for the night, backing the singers Jasmine Sullivan, Dwele and others. Now, not every jazz musician is this deeply ensconced in the world of hip-hop and R&B, so Giant Step offers someone like Glasper a unique and somewhat anomolous opportunity. But what it shows is that given the chance, jazz musicians can appeal to a broader audience without changing what they do. And audiences deserve a little more credit than we in the jazz world tend to think.
Granted, a sophisticated dance crowd is probably more receptive to jazz than most. But the memory of this event will inspire me for some time. Boundaries disappeared. And the notion that jazz is dead, or stagnating, was decisively refuted.
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