Alighting Records Lexiglass LP

What happens when a decade-old instrumental hip hop band emerges—after years on the grind at block
parties and bookstores followed by months of lockdown and a single 2020 gig performed to a smattering of
protestors and a line of descending cops—to sit down at a real piano and a drum set and reflect? Lexiglass. A
free-improvised spiritual jazz record rooted in hip hop. Recorded all live, with no second takes, no
overdubs, and minimal editing, Lexiglass is a raw showcase of free-improvised groove.
Alexis Marcelo and Will Glass started playing together in upper Manhattan around 2012, founding Lexiglass in
2014 as a back-up band for MCs and vocalists. When not accompanying others, they would perform
instrumentally, combining golden-era repertoire (Kool G Rap, Mobb Deep, ATCQ) with exploratory playing.
Funky and open-ended, these shows have featured cameos from scratch pioneer Grand Wizzard Theodore,
Bowie drummer Dennis Davis, free jazz hero Daniel Carter, and the legendary MC T La Rock.
At the tail end of the pandemic, they sat down and improvised “Light on the Confluence,” a searing, searching
piece that centers this release. While “Stained Glass Prism” rings with gospel-inspired piano, “Lake Effect”
mines a dark groove inspired by the cold sounds of Buffalo’s Griselda, “One Six Five” throws out some
heavy-loose Latin funk, and “Clap it Up” kaleidoscopes Thelonious Monk into Marley Marl into future soul. All
spontaneously composed, these are real-time songs, freestyled instrumentals.
Alexis Marcelo is a pianist from NYC with a unique sound rooted in Autophysiopsychic music, as defined by Dr.
Yusef Lateef, with whom he studied and performed. He is a frequent collaborator with many major creative
musicians including James Brandon Lewis, Malcolm Mooney, Adam Rudolph, Ava Mendoza, Jerome Jennings,
and J. D. Parran. In 2023 he performed in The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Anthony Davis’s X: The Life
and Times of Malcolm X, and in 2024 he worked with the GZA.
Drummer Will Glass is an improviser active in different styles who has worked with Dirty Projectors, Lonnie
Holley, Nat Baldwin, Shalabi Effect, Chris Burns & His Going Concerns, and Marjorie Eliot. His two-volume
Glass Breaks drum library LPs have sold out of multiple pressings via Fat Beats Distribution, and have been
sampled by Kev Brown and Wolf Eyes.
Lexiglass has released three mixtapes and two EPs of mostly covers. Lexiglass is their first release of mostly
original material, and their first project on vinyl.