R. Glasper and J. Moran duo concert broadcast

Last November’s EFG London Jazz Festival concluded with a compelling double bill at the Royal Festival Hall to mark the 75th anniversary of the iconic Blue Note label. The evening featured an all-star band of the new generation of players on its roster with guitarist Lionel Loueke, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, bassist Derrick Hodge and drummer Kendrick Scott.

But the evening began with a spellbinding double piano duet between Robert Glasper and Jason Moran – who began by playing a Fats Waller-esque stride blues before spiralling off into an inspired hour of continuous improvisation that concluded with a suitably ethereal take on Herbie Hancock’s ‘Maiden Voyage’. For many festival goers this was among the highlights of the ten-day event.

The hour-long duo performance was recorded by BBC Radio 3’s Jazz On 3 and will be broadcast on Monday 16 February at 11pm. The programme also includes an exclusive interview with both pianists who were put to the MP3 Shuffle test: putting their iPods on random mode and seeing what tracks come up and using them as the spark for conversation, with some interesting musical choices cropping up from the likes of Drake, Kim Burrell, Gregory Porter and Otha Turner.

– Mike Flynn