Robert Glasper has long kept one foot planted firmly in jazz and the other in hip-hop and R&B. He?s worked extensively with Q-Tip, playing keyboards on the rapper?s 2008 album The Renaissance and co-writing the album single “Life Is Better” which featured his label mate Norah Jones. Glasper also serves as the music director in Mos Def?s touring band, and has toured with the multi-platinum R&B singer Maxwell. The Los Angeles Times once wrote that “it's a short list of jazz pianists who have the wherewithal to drop a J Dilla reference into a Thelonious Monk cover, but not many jazz pianists are Robert Glasper,” adding that “he's equally comfortable in the worlds of hip-hop and jazz,” and praising the organic way in which he “builds a bridge between his two musical touchstones.”

Lafayette, LA based band, Vagabond Swing, creates the driving force behind their music with their uninhibited blending of styles and creativity. With their musical roots ranging from bluegrass to ska, the band produces a surprisingly smooth mixture of progressive Gypsy/Experimental/Circus-vibe/Swing tunes. Along with their melodic energy, the band members themselves bring on a show of vibrant, youthful spunk, which gives their performance a thrashing air of excitement.