Robert Glasper Double Booked (2 Lp's)

Robert Glasper could easily choose one of his two musical personalities and stick with it, but Double Booked is a more rewarding album because he doesn't. For its first half, Glasper, a hyper-talented jazz pianist, stays within the acoustic trio format, working alongside bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Chris Dave. Then, midway, he turns to his other collective, the Robert Glasper Experiment, and displays his hip-hop/R&B-oriented side at its funkiest. While it's possible that one segment of Glasper's growing audience may prefer one half over the other, or even shun the music that doesn't match its own taste, Glasper is seemingly not worried. Nor should he be -- it's this reputation as a forward-thinking cross-breeder of seemingly disparate elements that's gotten Glasper this far, and his ability to apply himself with equal braininess and craft to both that makes him one of the more promising representatives of jazz's future. Besides, after spending time with both segments, those