Atlanta-based collective Monkier takes the groove-oriented, jazz-inflected hip hop of the early ’90s (think Digable Planets and De La Soul) and pushes it more explicitly into the jazz arena, layering moody, horn-centric grooves over fusion-focused key explorations and bubbling bass, all topped off where necessary with frontman Zac Evans’ astute rhymes. In a less capable group’s hands, this sort of jam-fest concept could be (and frequently is) disastrous, but Monkier makes it work. The group’s self-titled debut calls to mind the recent release from crossover jazz pianist Robert Glasper—taut and tasteful, full of strange time signatures but also instantly graspable, sure to get the smart crowd grooving.
10 p.m. $5. www.georgiatheatre.com
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