Jazz and hip hop are two genres of uniquely American music. While very different, they both arose from the black experience; a lack of resources and abundance of ingenuity, where people used the instruments around them to create something wildly original. Two genres of music, rooted in improvisation, that went on to dominate the pop charts in their respective eras and continue to this day.
Nathan Hubbard and Parker Edison met at the intersection of jazz and hip hop, where improvisation is key to the process, and the spirit of the music. But the two musicians didn’t simply blend the two sounds, they used what they had and made something unique.
Their band, The Parker Meridien won two San Diego Music Awards in 2019, for Best Hip Hop or Rap Album and Best Hip Hop/Rap.
As part of the KPBS Summer Music Series, the band came to the KPBS studios to talk about their collaboration and perform some music.
