Robert Glasper Talks Scoring Luther Vandross Documentary, Praises Modern Jazz

As Robert Glasper gears up for his next Apple Music-exclusive album, the Grammy-winning artist is reflecting on his musical influences and where jazz stands today.

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Ahead of the Blue Note Jazz Festival: The Black Radio Experience , Glasper opened up about scoring the forthcoming Luther Vandross documentary . On being asked to curate the music for the film, the composer gushed to Billboard , “Luther was the soundtrack to my childhood. We didn’t have a family gathering without Luther’s music playing. Doing the music for this doc was close to my heart.”

He added, “It felt like him.”

Glasper, who is part of this influx of modern jazz and its incorporation of R&B and Hip-Hop, also opened up about the future of the genre.

“I think that people are OK with jazz moving into the modern times,” he explained. “People are kind of letting go and allowing it to do what it needs to do. We already have jazz history. But new things [in jazz] also need to be done so that the new things can, in turn, make history.”

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He credited the likes of Samara Joy, Esperanza Spalding , and Gregory Porter for “bringing jazz into a new day.” Glasper continued, “They’re saying it’s OK to learn the history, but don’t get held back by it. That lesson is being taught. And a lot of people are embracing this new wave of artists who are telling their stories and aren’t afraid to do so.”

He later called Joy, “a breath of fresh air,” noting, “She obviously has studied the history of the music, but you can hear her through it, as well. And she’s not afraid of genre-hopping, either. I love the fact that she’s steeped so deep in gospel music and R&B.”

As far as Glasper’s next project is concerned, he described it as a merger between jazz and Hip-Hop. His last LP, Let Go , was more of a reset to help listeners quiet the world around them in an effort to see it more clearly.

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