Robert Glasper Experiment: TD Ottawa Jazz Festival
Photos provided by Gent Zaplluzha (GZ) and Stephane Mukunzi (SM). Scroll down for photo essay.
00 :: straight out the whole-y land, we wondered if Sir Robert remembered himself at one point, as his own band's only fan. a mesh of common folk were billeted underneath the tent like an army of activists waiting to hear a filling of wise words or thick trumpets, whichever came first.
GZ
01 :: lately, fidelia says he can't even find the time, while for me, blunders are popping amass like two fools in love and last night was no exception. Dr. David worked his magic and let PACE document the Robert Glasper Experiment kicking it before their show at the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival.
GZ
02 :: burritos, salads and other delicacies we couldn’t munch on // in a trailer by an avenue once known as Maria Street - all before Willie Laurier was honoured.
GZ
03 :: the blunder / during one of the introductory hellos, a member opposite was asked if he were the tour manager. “No,” he responded, followed by laughter from his sitting neighbour and c'était fini.
he later revealed himself to being their exceptional guitarist. sincere sorries.
GZ
04 :: a bunch of young kids won meet and greets with the band & the best advice man's could hold down as they climbed the trailer stairs was, "remember, they're regular people, just like the rest of us."
GZ
05 :: there were about six or seven of them, politics was a little off grid and so the idea of visiting parliament was more than they could make allowance for.
thankfully, Timothy mentioned Oscar Peterson’s statue by the National Arts Centre and that lit things up.
we then had about a minute and four seconds to snap the equipment on stage. Dr. David kept vigilant track of time.
SM
06 :: "Fuck! This is so psychedelic."
- overheard in the crowd.
GZ
07 :: Robert glassed his keys, the guitar swapped for a saxophone, the drummer all purposefully off beat as he set the speed particularly in advance to a better place // a live jazz jam session.
and that cover of Roxanne.
GZ
08 :: the show was over and the group's DJ dropped UGK's Int'l Players Anthem. have I ever told you that Bun B has the voice of butter floating a river in India aboard a maple canoe?
there were screams for an encore. Sir Robert came out, said it wasn't possible - the usual blabber about noise levels and other whimsical irrelevancies. a young lady popped her head from out the curtain and chucked her thumb up.
we hope she's still employed.
SM
09 :: and in the voice of the Experiment, the crowd was asked, “who are we?” and the response was, “we are awake.”
PACE would like to thank the staff and volunteers at TD Ottawa Jazz Festival for granting us permission for this exclusive piece. None of this would be possible without Dr. David.
