Label: Blue Note Records, 2021

Personnel - Robert Glasper: keys; Terrace Martin: synthesizer, saxophone, vocals; Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah: trumpet; Taylor McFerrin: synthesizer; Derrick Hodge: bass; Justin Tysonn: drums; Omari Hardwick: spoken word.

This live recording from the eclectic, socially conscious collective R+R=NOW led by keyboardist Robert Glasper consists of five previously recorded songs, one unreleased original, and one cover. Captured in 2018 during a month-long residency at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, the music is extended in time but adds little to the band’s debut, Collagically Speaking.

Sporting a groove-laden spirit and electric relaxation, the band opens with “Respond”, where the effect-infused trumpet of Christian Scott soars to top of the harmonic definition of Derrick Hodges’ streamlined bass and Justin Tyson’s focused snare and drum kick activity. The relaxing stratus is gradually densified via textural layers and growing energy. This is followed by “Been on my Mind”, a pneumatic, soul-infused song featuring robotic-like vocals by Terrace Martin and a slow boom-bap beat.

Besides the aforementioned pieces, three others had been included in the debut album. They are “Change of Tone”, a crafty blend of R&B, hip-hop and jazz-funk whose passages flow with soulful chords, brittle synth beams and an extended, if rhythmically interesting, piano solo from Glasper; “Needed You Still”, which features the spoken word of Omari Hardwick while delightfully propelled by Hodges’ fat bass notes and Tyson’s stunning drum work; and the pungent fusion of “Resting Warrior”, an over-25-minute stretch stirred up with Afro-inspired vibrations and consecutive solos, beginning with Terrace on the alto saxophone.

There's a natural elasticity in Tyson’s rhythmic pulsations that also applies to the new compositions. “How Much a Dollar Cost” is an R&B enterprise from the pens of Kendrick Lamar and Martin, where trumpet and synthesizers dance unabashedly, whereas “Perspective / Postpartum” splices compositions from Scott and synth player Taylor McFerrin. This audio track is largely stuffed with dispensable interaction with the audience, relying on circular progressions with triple and double time feels to engage us in.

Although unessential and somewhat unconnected, fans of the band have here another musical object to explore.