Needless to say the predecessor was a big, big album, making Glasper the go-to jazzer for a new generation of soul and hip-hop fans, hundreds of whom flocked to see him at venues such as London’s Roundhouse and concert halls across Europe. That previous set stood on the richness of both the numerous guest vocalists and the material that they performed, and this sequel has similar quality control, even though it arguably lacks the one killer tune à la ‘Letter To Hermione’ that silences any haters who cast aspersions on Glasper’s ability as an arranger-producer. That’s the whole point. The Black Radio concept is black popular music shaped by the craftsmanship of a highly trained musician rather than an attempt to make soulful, ‘mainstream’ jazz per se. With that in mind it should come as no surprise that the defining feature of the album is the guest singers and rappers and the catchiness of their choruses rather than ‘chops-heavy’ soloing, of which there is very little. In fact, Glasper is more focused on the task of writing and producing than he is improvising and the way that he helms the record’s highlights, Jill Scott’s ‘Calls’, Norah Jones’ ‘Let it Ride’ and Anthony Hamilton’s ‘Yet To Find’, is impressive. Somewhere deep in Hollywood a certain Mr Hancock must have a very wry smile.

Jazzwisespoke to Robert Glasper about the album

Given the enormous success of Black Radio did you feel any pressure doing the follow up?

I felt a little pressure because Black Radio hit the scene so hard and had so much unexpected commercial success, so I was wandering how to follow that! Then I figured if I just make another album that’s different from that but has the same spirit it could go over well. BR2 is more produced and is much more of an R&B hip hop album than the previous.

There are some bigger names on board – Norah Jones and Snoop being the obvious ones to mention. Cynics might say this is a shot at the commercial jugular?

Well, the names definitely had to get bigger if I wanted to have a chance to compete with the last album. But even on this album I pretty much knew everybody already, with the exception of maybe three people. As for Norah, we went to jazz camp together in high school. I’ve been knowing her a long time!

Did you choose all of the singers yourself?

Yes I always choose who I work with.

You solo very little. Do you think that comping is an underrated skill?

I solo less on this album because I purposely wanted to make an R&B album. So I wanted to showcase my production and writing skills on this album. But yes, comping is definitely and underrated skill. The art of making others sound good is lost.

Did you leave it to the singers to write their melodies or did you write them together?

Half of the songs I actually collaborated with songwriters. I wanted this album to be rich in good original songs! The last record was rich in cover songs.

Will there be a Black Radio 3?

I’m not sure, let’s see how BR2 goes!