Renowned jazz musician Robert Glasper is set to release his tribute to Miles Davis, titled Everything’s Beautiful, on May 27th. In anticipation, Glasper has shared one exciting cut from the new album; a track entitled “I’m Leaving You.”
“I’m Leaving You” features work from John Scofield and Ledisi, and was entirely inspired by a recording of Davis saying a three-word phrase, “wait a minute.” The whole album blends Davis’s extensive body of work, including outtakes and master recordings, to put together something new and beautiful. Glasper explains his thought process behind “I’m Leaving You” in the premiere article featured in Essence.
“I found a clip of Miles saying “wait a minute”—just that simple phrase—and it had so much of his classic swag in it, and it had such a rhythm, I decided to build that whole track around that and that’s how it started,” said Glasper. “After that it was a real group thing: (Ledisi) wrote the lyric, my man Black Milk took a Lenny White drum pattern and chopped it up for the beat, and that’s John Scofield—who is our direct link to Miles for this project, having been in his ’80s band. That brought it full circle. I love the R&B uplift this track gives the whole project!”
Listen to “I’m Leaving You” below:
Glasper commented on the whole album as well, saying “I like that this whole record has a smoky, late-night vibe that is consistent through almost all the tracks but that really just happened naturally. No one told anyone what tempo or mood to go for, so the track with Ledisi really stands out. You know she’s a super jazz geek anyway, and can sing the heads of almost any bop tune you want to name. I’ve seen her do it!”
The full album features contributions from Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Hiatus Kaiyote, Bilal, Illa J and so many more, in celebration of what would have been Davis’s 90th birthday. You can read about it here.