Future Shock

Inspirationally, the common denominator between modern jazz greats Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, Thundercat and Flying Lotus might be the late, great J Dilla. But the first to connect hip-hop and jazz like they organically deserved to share the same space was pianist Herbie Hancock on “Rockit,” the Grammy-winning centerpiece of his 35th album, Future Shock. He’d already piloted a flying saucer on the cover of Thrust (1974). But on Future Shock — a collaboration with Bill Laswell and his avant-garde group, Material — Hancock embraced GrandMixer DXT’s turntablism and the latest Fairlight synthesizers to explore a post-modern jazz with eyes and ears toward the 21st century.