On May 26, the legendary Miles Davis would have turned 90 years old. To commemorate his birthday, Columbia/ Legacy will release Everything’s Beautiful May 27, smartly crafted collection of songs produced by Robert Glasper. The record blends a diverse group of master takes and outtakes from across Davis’ Columbia catalog with an impressive lineup of contemporary artists and musicians to create original interpretations.
“I didn’t want to do just a remix record,” Glasper noted when discussing the 11-song set. “My idea was to show how Miles inspired people to make new art.”
Realizing that “Miles didn’t have one audience,” Glasper recruited a legion of guest artists to add to the magic of the project including familiar collaborators like R&B musicians Erykah Badu, Ledisi, Bilal, and KING. They are joined by British soul singer-songwriter Laura Mvula, hip-hop producer Rashad Smith, Grammy-nominated Australian neo-soul quartet Hiatus Kaiyote, rapper/ singer Phonte, rapper/ producer Illa J, jazz guitarist John Scofield who was in Miles Davis’ band, and the legendary Stevie Wonder.
“I am living in the spirit of Miles when I am doing what I’m doing because I am documenting my time period. I’m documenting what’s around me. I’m documenting who I am now, where music is now,” notes Glasper.
“That’s what this project is about. I wanted to do something where we can take some of Miles’ ideas, shake them up, and try to show the influence of Miles and make new things. And that’s the beauty of this whole album. The whole project is based on Miles, but it is based on Miles’ vision, it’s based on Miles’ trumpet, it’s based on Miles’ voice, it’s based on Miles’ composition, it’s based on Miles’ influence, it’s based on Miles’ swag.”
Miles Davis was a rarity—a pioneering superstar who was constantly voyaging into new directions and genres with an ever-revolving cast of collaborators. Throughout his discography, sweeping change and innovation could happen based on who was in the studio and what they brought to his stunning musical vision. Few American artists have impacted popular music and culture in a long-lasting a way as did Miles.
By similar design, pianist/ producer Robert Glasper has built a career out of a vibrant fusion of R&B, jazz, and hip-hop. As the leader of the acoustic Robert Glasper Trio and the electronic Robert Glasper Experiment, he’s pushed the boundaries of each genre he works within to their breaking point. This is the artist whose album, In My Element (2007) featured mashups of Herbie Hancock and Radiohead and tributes to rapper/ producer J Dilla. Black Radio was also capped by a sprawling cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. Most recently, Glasper scored for Miles Ahead, the Miles Davis biopic directed by and starring Don Cheadle.
Everything’s Beautiful is unlike any other in Davis’ discography. From the familiar riffs and passages within the catalog to the obscure—samples of Miles’ in-studio instructions spoken after false starts—Glasper has built something unique but still unquestionably Miles. The cover art was created by Francine Turk and integrates elements of Miles Davis’ artwork. With the cover, Turk creates a visual that is similar to the idea of Glasper’s, taking fragments of Miles music and reinterpreting in a unique and modern way.
Everything’s Beautiful is, well, a beautiful way to celebrate to the late, great Miles. You can pre-order your copy at the official Miles Davis store.
