Description
Is there anything to be done with carols like God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Joy to the World that hasnt been done in the past 300 years? If there is, Grammy-winning pianist, composer, and producer Robert Glasper is the kind of artist to do it. I like covering songs that people know well, says Glasper, Thats what Ive done throughout my whole career. Its true: As a jazz pianist, hes obviously learned his way around making classics his own, whether they were written by Mongo Santamaría or Kurt Cobain. But, he says, The biggest challenge in making a holiday album was trying to do it in a way that feels festive but at the same time feels real and not corny. He succeeds on both fronts on In December, his holiday album that mixes classic carols with a set of originals, and which was recorded in Spatial Audio. Part of what keeps it credible is the fact that Glaspers hiphop/R&B/jazz fusion is done on a compositional level instead of just a cosmetic one (no collages of sampled sax solos and drum loops here). The covers reveal a lot about his musical worldview: Sung by Tony winner Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple), God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is turned into dark, airy neo-soul, while Joy to the Worldsung by Alex Isleyfeels like a Stevie Wonder ballad. But the originals reveal even more. The intention for this album was less about Christmas songs and more about songs that feel good during the holidays, Glasper says. I stayed away from thinking too much about Christmas and its traditional lingo, and concentrated on real things people go through during the holiday season.
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