Robert Glasper is a busy man. But in between scoring a Miles Davis’ film, playing keys on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly and Anderson .Paak’s Malibu, and working on a collaborative album with Herbie Hancock, he’s found time to round up his Grammy-winning gang again, Robert Glasper Experiment, to record this vibrant, genre-defying album, Artscience. The group locked itself up in a studio in New Orleans for two weeks, and with no guest vocalists (vocal duties are handled by members and Glasper himself) and everyone contributing to the writing process, Artscience emerges as “the freest version of the Experiment yet.” Needless to say, the 12-tracker is rooted deeply in Jazz, but Casey Benjamin, Derrick Hodge, Mark Colenburg, and of course, RG explore funk, soul, rock, hip-hop, blues, disco, electronic, and pop through the genre’s electrifying lens. Check out the ethereal r&b groove of “Let’s Fall In Love,” or the uptempo, disco thrill of “Day To Day.” It’s all about the Rhodes on “In My Mind,” and “Thinking Bout You” is a nod for those that wait for these talented cats back home, and other highlights include “Human,” a cover of Human League, “Hurry Slowly,” “No One Like You,” and “Tell Me A Bedtime Story.”

• music label: Blue Note 2016

reviewed by donut savage 09/2016