Neo Soul — LPs  

An amazing new chapter in the career of Robert Glasper – one of our favorite new jazz musicians of the past decade or so! This set features loads of Glasper's enigmatic piano lines – those fluid, elliptical sounds that are always filled with plenty of soul and imagination – matched here with guest vocals from a host of key talents – including Erykah Badu, Lalah Hathaway, Musiq Soulchild, Meshell Ndegeocello, Bilal, and Lupe Fiasco! The blend is surprisingly wonderful – not a sell out at all, but a way for Glaspar's music to reach a rich new level of expression – as the vocals really help the instrumental elements come alive – and unlock this side of Robert's potential that was always lurking in the background. One of the best musical moments we've heard from Blue Note in years – with titles that include "Always Shine", "Move Love", "Ah Yeah", "Lift Off", "Afro Blue", "Cherish The Day", "Black Radio", and "Letter To Hermione".

A great new chapter in the career of Jose James – and a record that really seems to take his already-amazing vocals to a whole new level! In a relatively short career, Jose's already been turning a lot of heads with his work on other projects, his jazz-based recordings, and his debut for Gilles Peterson's album – yet this Blue Note set may well be his best record to date – and a set that definitely seems to find just the right place for his classic-styled approach to soul music vocals! Backings are mostly live, with a cool small funk group feel – but a bit more laidback too, almost with the jazzy touches you'd hear on some of Gil Scott-Heron's best 70s work, inflected with hipper changes with a 21st Century vibe. The whole thing's great – as important to Blue Note's move into soul as the Robert Glasper Experiment album – and titles include "Vanguard", "Heaven On The Ground", "Come To My Door", "Trouble", "Sword & Gun", and "It's All Over Your Body".

Sweet remixes from Robert Glasper's Black Radio album – all of them tunes that sound even more soulful than the originals! Given that the core record itself was a bit of a "remix" – Glasper's keyboards, funky beats, and hip contributions from a range of soul singers – the expansion of those sounds works perfectly here – stretching out the wonderful mix of modes through some sweet tracks that still leave plenty of room for Robert's keyboards. The set includes a totally great 9 minute "Dillalude #2", plus "Twice (?uestlove's Twice Baked rmx)", "Afro Blue (9th Wonder's blue light basement rmx with Phonte)", "Black Radio (Pete Rock rmx)", "Consequences Of Jealousy (Georgia Anne Muldrow's sassy geemix)", and "Letter To Hermione (Robert Glasper & Jewels rmx)".