Everything's Beautiful
isn't quite a tribute or a remix project. It's not a collaboration between
Miles Davis
and
Robert Glasper
, as it is billed. On the surface, from a stylistic standpoint and in terms of personnel, it is closer to a sequel to
Black Radio Recovered
. Predominantly relaxed and rather ethereal, richly layered yet not quite psychedelic, and rhythmically hip-hop more than anything else, the two releases feature much of the same production and vocal lineup, including
Glasper
and partner
Jewels
,
Georgia Anne Muldrow
9th Wonder
, and
Bilal
Phonte
. Likenesses to
notwithstanding, this should be taken on its own terms. Issued the day after
Davis
would have turned 90, less than two months after the release of
Don Cheadle
's Miles Ahead -- for which
co-produced the soundtrack and provided the score --
was marketed as "reimagined interpretations."
Sony
's catalog division had sought
for remixes, but the keyboardist countered with the concept of making new material out of
' multi-track
Columbia
recordings. He and his extended cast of associates were granted access to all of it, even studio chatter, amusingly laced through "Talking Shit," an intro sourced from sessions for three LPs.
plays on five cuts, soloing only on the animated
Muldrow
collaboration "Milestones." Among the remaining six are essentially new recordings by
Hiatus Kaiyote
King
Ledisi
with 1982-1985
guitarist
John Scofield
, some of which don't involve
on production, either.
Bill Evans
' piano from "Blue in Green," as heard on
's "Violets," and
' trumpet from "Maiysha," are among the more familiar elements. The latter arrives during
Erykah Badu
's bossa nova vocalese version of the same-titled song, one of the album's most creative moments. At times,
' presence is inconspicuous. There's only one instance, where a typically raspy exclamation is repetitiously inserted hype-man (
Sen Dog
) style, where it's truly jarring. Considering the disparate source material and the quantity of vocalists, instrumentalists, and producers involved, it's remarkable how smoothly the album flows from one track to the next. Unsurprisingly, it's most appealing to fans of
and those he involved. As the keyboardist states in the liner notes, "To me, the best way to show gratitude is to show how you've been inspired by someone: 'Hey man, I wrote this song because of you!' Not, 'Hey, I'm playing your tune.'" ~ Andy Kellman