Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome to the latest edition of one hundred The Ed
Gordon Podcast. Today a conversation with musician Robert Blastper. The
five time Grammy winner is a native of Houston, Texas.
He started performing in church and since has become one
of this generation's most acclaimed musical producer arrangers. He's become
(00:42):
a master in blending genres of music and collaborations. His
twenty twelve album Black Radio, that featured Laila Hathaway, Let
Us See, Erica Badu and Music Soul Child just the
name a few, has been hailed by many critics as
a seminal album. It would go on to win a.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Grammy Shame, which is Don Atro Floo.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
He's also an artist in residence for the Blue Note
Jazz Festival in Napa, California, hosted by comedian Dave Chappelle
and featuring a number of stars including Mary J. Blige, Nas,
and Parliament Funkadelic, will take place July twenty eighth through
the thirtieth. You say that's not jazz, We'll hold on.
(01:39):
You'll see why. Robert was playing hurt, just recovering from
laryngitis when we sat down. We started our conversation with
his musical beginnings. You started in the church down there
in Houston. Talk to me about your love of music.
How that came about.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Yeah, started with my mother. She passed away two thousand
and four.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
But she was a singer and a pianist, and she
sung at all the nightclubs around town, you know, from
the the R and B top forty stuff to jazz standards,
just her and piano, her and her accompanying herself doing standards.
And I was there a lot of times. We had
rehearsals at my house for her bands, you know what
I mean. So we had all the equipment at the house.
(02:26):
We had drums and keys and all that stuff. So
I was just kind of no escaping the music, you
know what I mean, because I was always there doing rehearsals.
And she took me a lot of the times, took
me to work with her because she couldn't get She
didn't like babysitters. So if my aunt couldn't watch me,
nobody was watching me. So she would bring me with
her work and waitresses to be checking on medium between
you know, while she's don't stayed singing. The waitresses coming
(02:48):
in the tree, you okay, you know, stuff like that,
but then on Sundays. You know, she was the music
director at church, you know, and she at that for
on Saturdays and Sunday, Seven Day Ventish Church and Baptist
Church on Sundays. So I started playing with her kind
of at both churches, seven Dayvnite Church and the Baptist Church.
(03:10):
While she was playing piano, I was playing Oregon and
just really learning how to play during services kind of.
I just kind of learned during that during that period
of time, why wild service is going on?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
You know.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
So that was kind of my stomping ground. Like really,
I'm trying to understand music and understand playing with a
band and you know, all that stuff at that church.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
You know, it's interesting. I grew up in Detroit and
I love music. I have no musical ability whatsoever, can so,
but I'm the dude who could tell you who wrote it,
who produced it, who's playing drums on it? That kind
of cap right, gotcha you a lot of those guys.
I'm a line of notes guy. But here's what's interesting
to me. There is a foundation that I think happens
(03:53):
to a lot of musicians who grow up in a
black church. Like you said, you know, there is the
element of music that if you're a musician you need
to know. Right, there's the feeling of music. Talk to
me about what the church did for you.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Man.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
The church is the reason why I know how to score. Now,
that's the reason why I know how to put music
to film and series and stuff like that, because and
how I know how to produce. Because you don't realize
that in the when you're doing it. But you know
I was doing at a young age. I was like
eleven when I started playing in church, right, But you know,
(04:36):
in those years I was over the choir, teaching choir parts,
telling the drums what to do, telling the bass what
to do, telling the guitar player what to do. Doing it,
I'm producing, you know what I mean. That's literally producing
the record. You know, That's how I learned how to
do that, what goes where, what makes sense, learning how
to troubleshoot and something goes wrong. I'm doing all that
when I'm twelve thirteen years old in front of people.
(04:58):
So you're also learning how to play in front of
an audience. You're not realizing that you're getting that also,
so people like, you know, are you you ever getting nervous?
Speaker 3 (05:08):
I'm like, no, I've been doing this in front of
audiences for so long. I don't even realize it, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
And you know, when you're playing in church, you're in
charge of putting music to the emotions people are going
through in the moment, you know what I mean, people
catching the Holy gooes, crying, doing this and that, and
you're playing that, and sometimes you're playing before they do it.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
You're playing to get.
Speaker 4 (05:32):
Them in that space, you know what I mean. And
so the music is in charge of that. So, you know,
playing a church it really really gives you the tools
to understand so many things and how to control so
many things, you know. And that's you know, literally, I'm
scoring stuff as we speak. And that's like, oh that
you're scoring a service. When you do a church service,
(05:54):
you're scoring it. You're the music person that's making all
these different things happen, and you have to support that
whatever's happening with music that supports what's going on, you know,
And so with all those things, church was like, I
don't know, that's why so many when you're a musician
that comes from church, you really have the tools to
do so much and understand so much and people that
(06:16):
gome from church can really actually produce a show and
know how to and it comes. It comes easy because
if you play in church, you've been most likely most
of us have been playing since we were a kid.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
You start, as you mentioned, at twelve, in church, you
go from there, you hit high school. You've got a
clear path at this point that that music is going
to be your direction. You find a way to New York.
Talk to me about what New York did and and
and the more, I think probably structured education.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
That you you receive in New York. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
So when I yeah, I got a full scholarship to
New York to go to school in New York. And
the first thing you did was humble the hell out
of me, because you know, I'll come from Houston. I
was the best you know what I mean. I'm when
I'm a senior in high school, IM the best cat
at the high school. One of the best people in
Houston period.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
You know what i mean. I'm thinking, I'm big, big thing,
big stuff. You know. I go to HET, I go
to New York.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
I went to my first jam session and I was like,
oh my gosh, No, I was afraid to play in
front of certain people because I already saw that piano
player play. So if you walk into this jam session today,
I ain't playing.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
I literally stop. I literally Some people.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Like when you go to New York, you put you
go to jam session, you have to write your name
on the list, and then you just call your name
right and you have to write what your issue that
you play. But they would call my name and I
would say, oh, I meant to put drum on the
drummer if I was scared to play piano, you know
what I mean, because I played little drums and I
would rather suck on drums and suck on my actual instrument,
you know what I mean. So it really humbled me
because everybody that that's the melting pot of that's where
(07:55):
everybody goes when you're when you're really good. That's why
they say you may in New York, you make it anywhere,
because that's where everyone goes to try to make it,
especially in jazz, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
And there's that. And then the first day I got
to school, I met.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Balaud amazing singers, vocals blau we met the first day
of school on stage. They like called our names, all
the freshmen that scored a certain thing. When you audition
and they put you on stage together and see how
you They called me and Blau together on stage, you know,
and that was the and and that changed everything. You know,
Me and Blau started writing songs, you know, mean in
(08:30):
my dorm room and messing around that. He got signed
to Interscoup Records, and then I became his MD, started
opening up, opening up for Erica and Common and that that,
you know, being with him threw me into that whole
neo soul scene because he's in Philadelphia, you know what
I mean. And in that time here especially, that was
like ninety seven ninety eight, that was when the whole
no neo soul what they called it was was cracking.
(08:52):
That's when they really starting to rock that. At that time,
Billy started to rock that. And since Blau was from there,
we would take a bus from the work to Philly
every with it Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday and go to
the spot called the Black Lily, and that's where it
was brewing. That's where that's the club where that was
happening at. And every Monday or every Tuesday was where
(09:14):
that Neil solstuff was happening when I went there with
I was going there with him every other week, seeing
jad miss Sullivan when she was fourteen in the club smashing,
you know what I mean, seeing all these amazing people,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
There.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Then the Roots started having a jam session in New
York and that was every week, and that was crazy.
That's where I met everybody, and allow to introduced me
to all the Philly cats, you know, James Poyser and
Questlove and you know, And that's how how I got
in with them. And then I started playing with the
Roots a lot because I was going to sit in
with them at the jam session. They started calling me
to actually play shows with him, you know what I mean.
(09:52):
So I was I was like an alternate route if
you will, for many years. So that was really my
introduction into playing hip hop live, you know, doing that
with you know, being Belows music director and working on
his album and playing with the Roots, you know what
I mean and all that stuff, and spending some time
in Detroit with j Dilla would blow you know, for
(10:13):
at first record, you know what I mean. And being
able to like really jam with Dylan in his basement
he on the MP I'm on the roads allowed there
we you know, I got to do that for like
two weeks, and so that whole thing really cultivated you
know what, what what I got going on now?
Speaker 1 (10:30):
You know, do you ever think about you know, I
remember Gambling Huff talked about just the universe that allowed
them to bump into each other in an elevator, and
the idea that what it takes to become a name
in music. It's extraordinary when you can find two people
(10:53):
who bump into each other and then make a name
for themselves. I'm wondering if you and Bla'll ever think
about that. I mean, just the odds that are astronomical.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Absolutely, and timing is everything because I originally got a
full scholarship to Berkeley College of Music in Boston.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I had that when I was in eleventh grade, right,
so my senior year I didn't have to do nothing.
Berkeley didn't even take SAT tests.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
I didn't even need to take an SAT test, the
status test you have to take when you're you know,
going to college that particular, I didn't need one, so
I was really chilling, like you know, and then New
School in New York came and gave me Scottship. At
the very last minute, they gave me Schotship, so you
have to make a choice. And I was like, well,
I think everybody from Berkeley ends up going to New York,
(11:40):
so I'm gonna beat all of them and get to
New York first. If I would have waited and went
to Berkeley, which is the cooler, the cooler school, you
know what I mean, it has more, you know, just
the hoopla when you when people are talking about college,
is Berkeley contin music is the one to go to?
You know, I would have went there. I would have
got to New York four years late. Blah would have
(12:00):
been gone. My life would have been different. I would
have missed the roosts, jam sessions. I would have missed
all those things. I would have missed meeting Common and
teaching him piano lessons because Blau was like my Common,
my friend comments rapper. He wanted to get piano lessons,
I'd be like, all right. He lived right down the
street from me, and below Erica lived down the street
from me, and blah, blah, he's just me to Erica.
(12:21):
I used to go walk to Erica's house and walk
listen to listen to stuff that she was about to
put out. She was getting put my ear on it
because I was a jazz guy, you know what I mean.
She was like, this is kind of jazzy.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
What do you think about this? You know?
Speaker 4 (12:32):
All those things are such a part of my life,
you know what I mean. And I would have totally
missed that if I would have just made that other decision,
you know what I mean. So it's like I always
tell people, like the the the key to really being
successful is the practicing and all that kind of stuff,
but it's also, you know, the opportunity and being being
(12:55):
creating it, being able to accept an opportunity, be where
the opportunity is, you know, because you can be dope
as hell amazing. You could be an amazing artists, amazing musician,
but if you're not in a place where opportunities happen,
then you're going to miss all those things. People who
are not as talented as you are going to get
those opportunities because they're just in the right place at
the right time. And I knew New York was going
(13:17):
to be where I wanted to be anyway, I'm like,
that's all the things I want to do. The opportunities there.
Let me go there, because the probability of something happening
is bigger there.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
When I think about your path in terms of collaboration
and the genres of music that you can touch and master.
I think about what Quincy Jones has done over the
course of his career, and the idea that the touch
tone of somebody like Quincy Jones or a Reef Martin,
(13:48):
that you can take any kind of music.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
And it sounds like you're at home with that.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Do you feel that way?
Speaker 4 (13:58):
Absolutely? And it's because I did the work, you know
what I mean? A lot of people I noticed to
be factual. I know so many people who are jazz
musicians and in their mind, Hey, I'm gonna put a
hip hop beat on this song. Now I'm crossed over.
(14:20):
You know, I put a rapper on my song, Now
I've crossed over. But and they play jazz. They play
hip hop with the rest of their jazz friends who
also don't know how to play hip hop, you know
what I mean? The same way with hip hop guys.
I tell you all the time, you want to learn
how to play jazz, you gotta go play with jazz guys.
Don't play with the rest of your hip hop friends
(14:40):
who don't know how to play jazz. Also, you want
to play hip hop, you need to go play in
a hip hop band. You really understand what that is,
what that feels like, you know what I mean, and
what all those vibes are, and you'll get all those
little musical intricacies that make hip hop hip hop the
(15:00):
same thing.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
So whatever genre you want to play in, you got
to play with the.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
Masters, if you can, some masters of that genre, or
some people who are really good of that in that genre.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
So when you play that genre, you know what you're
doing and it can feel authentic, you know.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
So every genre that I play, you know, I pretty
much live in hip hop, R and B and jazz,
and I played with literally masters of all of those genres.
I've been on the road with literal masters of that
genre and with other people that are really good.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
In playing that genre. And that's what taught me.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
I don't know if you can, I don't know how
you get better at hip hop playing with the roots
and playing with Dila and going to a Q Tip's
house every other week, playing doing stuff with him, playing
in his band and playing samples for him.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
You know, I was hanging out with Q Tip Dila
and the roots. That's how I learned how to play
hip hop, you know what I mean. You have.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
An interesting dynamic in that there are a lot of
people like you who you know, have a natural affinity
to produce, to arrange, to kind of put the pie together,
if you will, and they're satisfied with that. They don't
necessarily need to come out front and have what you had,
and that's a seminal album with black radio chairs.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
The day won't astray a ray away?
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Then, did the idea of the acceptance and and the
notoriety that you received for one end to surprise you
at all?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Absolutely? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (16:45):
If I didn't, Well, Luckily, I was a jazz musician.
I put out jazz records, first jazz trio albums, so
I had a whole life in jazz. So that's why
I was able to have even the thought of oh
I'm I'm the artist, but I'm also a producer and
I can do this. That's what made me get in
the alignment in the Quincy Jones world, you know what
(17:06):
I mean, Like, Hey, I can do this, but I
can also be a leader in it.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
I can also be the face of it because I
already put out jazz records, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
Most of the producers and stuff like that in R
and B world, they're so busy working with other artists
for their stuff. They never become their own artists, you
know what I mean. And even think of it like, oh,
I can do an album even if I don't. I
can produce it and I can compose it. But I
was already doing my own stuff, you know what I mean.
So it made it easier that transition. But I got
to tell you when we made Black Radio one, and
(17:37):
I wasn't expecting to do a number two. When we
made Black Radio, it was just like, you know, I
just called up some of my friends, Hey, you want
to do this record with me? And it was supposed
to be a half and half record. It was only
supposed to be like six guests on twelve tracks. But
my friends kept hearing about it, you know, other people
hearing you doing a record. I'm not on the record,
(17:57):
you know, and it just became okay.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
So it became a.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Juke joint of Quincy Jones juke joint, if you will,
by a chance, because it kind of snowballed into that,
you know what I mean. And I thought it was
at best gonna get like underground praise, like oh, this
is a cool underground record. I did not expect the
Grammy used to get a whiff of it. I did
not expect to get nominated for a Grammy. And I
damn sure did expect to win. That was going up
(18:24):
against you know, cats that are out here, you know.
I think I went up against Ark Kelly and uh,
you know, uh, I forget who who all was on
Black Radio one I went against. But it was like
heavy hitters. It's R and B, you know, So I'm
not thinking I'm a win and the win just took
it over the top. I was like, I can't believe this, yo,
you know. And when I won, it was like I
(18:46):
won for everybody, you know, I won for the musicians.
I won for the artists who aren't doing the cookie
cutter in the box type R and B music.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
You know.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
I won for artists who are honest with themselves and
who really got something to say.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
You know, you talked about working with masters and people
who really are musicians. They are artists, right yeah, uh,
And then there are musicians absolutely, And I think about
the people that you've worked with just some of the
names on the jazz side, Christian McBride and Terrence Blanchard,
Roy Hargrove, Marcus Miller, and then I think about you
(19:22):
mentioned Erica and Common and Jill Scott, my man Anthony
Hamilton and my girl Layla who I love to death,
and even Snoop. Give me a sense when you close
the door, man and you think about all of these
people you've been able to work with. I suspect you
see it as a blessing and what else.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Absolutely, it's a blessing and a privilege, you know, to
be able to work with, because the reality is I
can't afford one of them people, you know what I mean,
Like I didn't do Black Radio, like paying everybody whether
they're worth No, that's relationships, that's me being cool. That's
a lesson. I try to tell me. Musicians don't get
to the point where you think you're so good and
(20:03):
it's not even that you're good. You might have a
good gig. Gigs come and go. But people have a
good gig and they think they can be assholes to people,
you know what I mean. They can look down to
other musicians and walk in the room and treat people
a certain way and all these things, you know what
I mean. And gigs come and go. You can get
fired tomorrow because most of it, most of that thing
comes from that. It's like, oh, I'm an MD for
(20:25):
so and so, and like you might be an MD
this year and not next year. Chill out, you know.
But I've learned that, you know, I've had the same
personality since I was a little kid. People that I've
seen run into an elementary school, Like, Bro, you haven't changed, Bro.
On your ig, You're the same person like and people
like me and I have a rapport with people, and
I like to be cool with people. And that's why
I'm able to make black radio because people like what
(20:48):
I do musically and they like me. And it's like,
you know what, this could work and it's a win
win for both of us, you know what I mean.
So you know, I never take it for granted, and
I think it is a privilege, and I think it's,
like I said, it just it's a test a testament
to just if you you know, if you be humble
and be cool about stuff, and you know, things like
(21:08):
that can happen for you, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
And come to you with that, you know, last thing
before we jump into the Blue Note Jazz Festival coming
up in July. You mentioned the idea of scoring music
for films, which you know, for many, many years save
Quincy Blacks, were not able to even get a whiff
of that. I know that you did the photograph that
(21:31):
Ray was in. What else are you doing and what
are you looking to do?
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah? So right after the photograph, I did this series.
The second season is coming out. It's called it's called
Run the World. It's on Stars. The second season about
to come out. I did that.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
I also did the Fresh Prince of bel Air, the
reboot the New There on Peacock. I did the first
season of that.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
I'm finning.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
I'm starting the second season now of Winning Time on
HBO about the the Lakers in the eighties. I did
the Best Man series that came out in December just now.
So mostly I've been just doing a lot of series,
you know, a lot of a lot of series. I'm
working right now on a series as we speak called
(22:28):
The Big Cigar and the Don Cheatle is producing. Finishing
up that, and yeah, and then there's some other things
that I can't say there that we haven't signed a
dotted line yet on yet, but there's some really cool
opportunities for movies that have come around. So I'm just
waiting to waiting until i could talk about those. But
(22:49):
that's what I was doing during the pandemic. You know,
during the pandemic, you know, you couldn't go into studios,
you know, you couldn't do any of that because of COVID.
So this, this room, my man, is a udio. We
built like literally, it's a one favor apartment in the
back of my house and a lot that that my
moved out of during COVID. So me and my friend
(23:10):
Terres Martin took it over and made the studio. And
this is where I made Black Radio, and this is
where I scored all of those.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Series, you know. So I was able to have a
safe space to do all the stuff. You know.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yeah, And on a personal note, that's you know, and congratulations,
and that's great. I remember Quincy Jones telling me the
idea of being able to score the length of time
you can make a career out of that, he said,
you know, and some people have a great two or
three years in music, four five years in music. But
the idea of being able to score for movies and television.
(23:44):
He said, you know, Quincy said, dude, you can do
that forever.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Oh man, oh man, you can go forever.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Man. Let's talk about the festival Man July thirtieth in Napa. Yes,
you are are the resident artist, a resident and curated this.
Now let me ask you the question everybody's gonna ask you,
(24:13):
and that is when you see Napa Jazz and you
look at some of the headliners, They're gonna say, well,
nas Chance, the rapper.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
Mary Jay, what do they have to do with jazz?
Your retort is what my retort is.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
This festival is about all the music that has been
inspired by jazz. It's the fiftieth year of hip hop,
first of all, and there are jazz musicians on the bill.
I'm artists, are residents. I'm a jazz musician, you know
what I mean. I mean, all my Grammys are in
R and B and hip hop, but whatever, I'm a
jazz musician still too so. But this is really about
(24:50):
how jazz has influenced so many other styles of music,
you know what I mean? And everybody name has a
record that has jazz in it or a jazz sample
in it. You know Nas. You know there's a Jamal
all over NAS album. There's there's you know, Ama Jamal
all over the Last Soul albums.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
There's you know, I mean, there's you got Mary Mary
j Blige, you know what I mean? You know we
uh what was that? My life? My life, my life?
Speaker 1 (25:22):
That ain't nothing, but you know Royal Air, you know,
I mean he had George Benson on seven days doing
his thing there.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Yeah, there you go, there you go.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
Everybody on there has some sort of connection to jazz.
And that's what it's really about. And that's what I'm
That's what I'm about. That's what I've been about for
a very long time, is connecting jazz, hip hop and
R and B and and the root of it, the
mother of all these things is jazz, you know what
I mean. And you know, the cool thing about this
festival is, first of all, it was it came from
(25:56):
my my residency that I do in New York. I
do a residency at the Blue Note UH in New
York every October. We call it rob tober Fest, and
I do it, and I do like five or six
weeks straight and I have all these special guests pop up,
some of some pop up, some are build you know
what I mean, you never know what's going to happen.
Dave pops in and out and and hosts with me.
Sometimes Chris Rock comes through, and you know, it's just
(26:18):
you never know what's.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Going to happen. So we thought about it.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
We're like, yo, let's try to make this a festival,
you know what I mean, that'd be dope to make
this whole month like a festival. So that's where the
idea came from, and the ideas. You know, it started
off in a very small club, but you get all
these big names coming through. You never know what's going
to happen. So that's what makes this festival really cool.
All these big names in a small town in Napa
coming through and and and and and and doing this.
(26:44):
And we we kind of we always make a little
It's it's kind of like the blue note, Like the
blue note you know in the scale is a note
that sticks out, that perches your heart, Like what is that?
Speaker 3 (26:55):
You know what I mean? And you know this festival
is like the blue note in Napa, you know what
I mean, It's like it sticks out, yeah, no doubt,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
It's got things never happened before in Napa, and the
way it is at Blue Noo Jazz Club. You don't
know who's going to jump on, who's going to be
popping up at the festival that wasn't announced, and you know,
people jamming with each other. It's a big festival like this,
it's like a faunidly re union, you.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Know, stages.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
We should note that Dave you mentioned this, Dave Chappelle,
you know, the deep facto host. Others on the line
we talked about, you know, jab Bobby McFerrin, Yes, Clark Junior,
who's you know, one of the baddest guitarists out there,
and absolutely and rock and I also appreciate I see
(27:42):
that mister Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic on the line as well.
So a little bit of everything for everybody.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
Absolutely, we should.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
We should also say that there are a myriad of
ways to pay for this thing, because you know, you're
talking about a number of days, so people can do
it like we used to do back in the day
and even lay.
Speaker 3 (28:05):
Away something if they need.
Speaker 4 (28:06):
Absolutely, yeah for sure, because yeah, for sure it does
hit the pockets, but you can that's why we made
it a certain way so you can get it done,
because it's definitely some place that you've got to be.
You're not gonna get nowhere else, nowhere else in the world,
you know what I mean. So it's gonna be very
very very fun and and and and it's it's very
(28:26):
uh inspirational when you go there, it's just like it's
such an inspiration. Then well just walk around there and
see these people walking there, you know, just being cool
and just you know, it's it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Yeah, that's one of the great things about particularly jazz festivals. Yeah,
the walls are kind of torn down during jazz festivals.
I think the Birks Festival in Pennsylvania and the like.
Just like you say, you're walking in lobby, you're sitting
in the restaurant. Everybody's just chilling and everybody's there. You know,
you're you're across from your favorite musician, and it's it's
(28:59):
a different vibe.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
You feel like you're at home. You feel like I said,
you feel like it's a faunily reunion. Doesn't feel like
the artists are over there and you're over here, you
know what I mean. Like I was always walking around, Dave,
walking around you know, it's just like cool, real cool.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Look, man, I look forward to it. I'm gonna stumble
my way out there to naple the Blue Note Jazz
Festival July twenty eighth through the thirtieth and listen, I
want thank you for soldiering through laringitis to make this happen.
Brother oh man, Yeah, that's living notion. Man.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Hey, always good to see you, man, Thank you, man,
Appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Another big thanks to Robert Glasper. For more information on
the Blue Notes Jazz Festival, go to blue Notejazz dot com.
You'll find all the information you need to make your
way to Knapom for some great music. One hundred is
produced by ed Gordon Media and distributed by iHeartMedia. Carol
(30:03):
Johnson Green and Scherie Weldon are our bookers. Our editor
is Lance Patton. Gerald Albright composed and performed our theme.
Please join me on Twitter and Instagram at edel Gordon
and on Facebook at ed Gordon Media.