Justin-Lee Schultz gives his take on Eddie Harris’ “Freedom Jazz Dance” with support from Robert Glasper. The jazz classic flows smoothly like water with a little bit of a funk ripple courtesy of the talk box Roger Troutman made popular with Zapp in the ’80s. Glasper, who is on the song’s intro, encouraged the multi-instrumentalist to use the talk box to give his rendition a unique flavor. Schultz provided the vocals, keys, horns, bass, lead and rhythm guitar on the cover that Harris originally wrote and recorded in 1965 and became popular after Miles Davis did his version in 1966. Jamie-Lee Schultz, who is Justin’s sister plays the drums on the “Freedom Jazz Dance.”

The 17-year-old jazz prodigy who has been co-signed by Glasper, Quincy Jones and Harry Connick Jr. is getting ready for the release of his sophomore album.  Just In The Moment is due for release on September 1st. Saxophonist Dave Koz, Glasper and Glasper’s son Riley have appearances on the album of all original compositions apart from “Freedom Jazz Dance.” Schultz’s first album, Gruv Kid came out in 2020 and hit number one in iTunes Jazz and the Top Ten on Billboard’s Smooth Jazz chart making him the youngest artist to ever chart. The young musician shared his feelings about the love of his craft in a press release: “Music has the power to bring people together. I’m always thankful when people come up to me and express their appreciation for what I do not only in Jazz but for all other genres. For me, improvisational music is freedom of expression.”

The Roots’ Picnic returns in-person after in June with Mary J. Blige headlining the two-day event in Philadelphia. Jazmine Sullivan, Robert Glasper, Wizkid, Summer Walker and SWV are also scheduled to perform on the stage at the Mann Center in West Fairmount Park. Blige is still glowing after her performing at the Super Bowl halftime show with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar. Her upcoming show with The Roots is being advertised as a once-in-a-lifetime set. There will be DJ sets from DJ Aktive and DJ Diamond Kuts. Jemele Hill and Questlove are among those who will take part in the podcast stage. The event will stream live on The Roots’ Youtube channel. Tickets are on sale now. 

ROOTS PICNIC is BAAAACK!!!!

TWO days in Philly- June 4-5
What do y’all think of the lineup? #RootsPicnic pic.twitter.com/VxNKWmQj0Z

— Alex Holley (@AlexHolleyFOX29) February 15, 2022

Robert Glasper has two live streams this fall with his Electric Trio and Dinner Party bands. The events will take place on October 8th and Octobr 19th in partnership with On Air. The trio features Burniss Travis, Justin Tyson and DJ Jahi Sundance. Terrace Martin and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah will perform the music from the Dinner Party album they released last year. Glasper is excited to perform for his fans during this time of limited travel. He says, 

“I’m really excited for people to see these shows. People have been asking when I’m coming to their city but I can’t travel everywhere right now, obviously. It was a really cool experience to perform in the space with 3D screens. It looked kind of trippy and fun while we were recording, so I’m looking forward to watching it again and being able to experience it with fans that can’t see me live right now. I hope they have as much fun watching it as we did while recording it.”

Glasper just won his fourth Grammy earlier this year for “Better Than I Imagined” with Meshell Ndegeocello and H.E.R. He also appeared as jazz great Art Tatum in National Geographic’s Aretha: Genius and scored the music for Starz’s Run The World with Derrick Hodge. In addition to the live stream events he will kick off his next Blue Note residency called Robtober from October 1 to November 7th. Tickets for the live-streamed shows can be purchased here. 

Roy Ayers, Robert Glasper, Van Hunt, Phony Ppl, Meshell Ndgeocello and more will all perform at the BRIC Jazzfest 2021 a three-day event from April 8th to April 10th. Keanna Faricloth of WBGO, will host the event that will be streamed from BRIC House in Brooklyn. There are single and three-day passes available for the event at the official website.