Motivated by their ethos to "reflect and respond" forward-thinking jazz, supergroup
R+R=Now make an ambitious, socially conscious blend of post-bop jazz, electronic-tinged fusion, avant-garde improvisational music, and hip-hop-influenced funk. Led by acclaimed pianist
Robert Glasper, the group debuted in 2018 with Collagically Speaking and returned in 2021 with a concert album,
Live.
The concept for
R+R=Now initially came to
Glasper while he was working on Nina Revisited, a companion album released in conjunction with the 2015
Nina Simone documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? Inspired by the legendary vocalist's belief that it is an artist's duty to reflect the times,
Glasper brought together many of his closest associates in 2017, including trumpeter
Christian Scott, bassist
Derrick Hodge, drummer
Justin Tyson, and synth players
Taylor McFerrin and
Terrace Martin. In 2018, they released their debut album, Collagically Speaking, which also featured contributions by
Omari Hardwick, Amanda Seales, and Terry Crews. A concert album,
Live, arrived in 2021 and featured songs recorded in 2018 during the group's month-long residency at the Blue Note in New York City. ~ Matt Collar