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Roy Hargrove Quintet at Jazz at the Centre
by C. Andrew Hovan
Roy Hargrove Quintet Jazz at the CentreNorthwest Activities Center Detroit, Michigan January 11, 2014 It seems these days that some of the most crucial aspects of jazz are the ones being downplayed by those jazz artists that have become the darlings of the jazz media. Peruse any number of top ten lists from 2013 and you'll find that many of these titles lack those basic elements such as swing, the blues, and mastery ...
Continue ReadingRoy Hargrove: Emergence
by Robert J. Robbins
As a trumpeter, composer, and an arranger, Roy Hargrove has been a mainstay of the contemporary music scene in a variety of formats for nearly two decades. Nevertheless, his big band experience has been limited mostly to his appearances with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, with which he has most ably proved himself an heir to the late trumpet legend's mantle. Hargrove has been steadily accumulating big band experience in his own right since 1995, however, and Emergence is ...
Continue ReadingRoy Hargrove: Earfood
by Tom Greenland
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove's 15th release, Earfood, is one of his best, showing that this not-so-young lion is in top shape. The disc features Justin Robinson (alto/flute), Gerald Clayton (piano), Danton Boller (bass) and Montez Coleman (drums), with Robinson's gushing alto ebullience, slightly loose around the edges, the perfect foil for Hargrove's eclectic moods, which range from brash and feisty to moody and introspective. Clayton is a real find, who 'speaks' swing, blues and gospel with fluency and feeling.
Continue ReadingRoy Hargrove: Earfood
by C. Michael Bailey
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove emerged into jazz consciousness as one of the “young lions" who beamed into the late 1980s and early 1990s. Other notable contemporary trumpeters include Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton, Kermit Ruffins, and Wallace Roney. All are associated with different genre traditions, Hargrove's being most closely associated with Lee Morgan.Hargrove's association with Morgan's style nevertheless has not prevented the young trumpeter from approaching music from a broad perspective. Hargrove and his Latin-Cuban band, Crisol, won a Grammy ...
Continue ReadingThe Roy Hargrove Quintet: Earfood
by Ian Patterson
In the liner notes, trumpeter Roy Hargrove declares that Earfood was recorded to bring pleasure to the listener. This may seem like a superfluous statement, after all, which artist doesn't want to please the listening public? What Hargrove means, is that the aim of the game is to offer up catchy melodies with a minimum of unnecessary artistic baggage; tunes as opposed to ambience, sweet harmony in place of dissonance. There isn't a fractured rhythm within earshot, nor an obscure ...
Continue ReadingRoy Hargrove: Two Views as a Sideman, With Jimmy Cobb and Anke Helfrich
by Ken Dryden
Roy Hargrove has been one of the most active jazz musicians of his generation, appearing on numerous record dates as a sideman each year in addition to leading his own CDs. The trumpeter/flugelhornist recently appeared with veteran drummer Jimmy Cobb's quartet, along with a 2005 disc by German pianist Anke Helfrich, with sterling results. Jimmy Cobb Quartet Cobb's Corner Chesky 2007 Cobb's Corner features Hargrove as the primary soloist, ...
Continue ReadingThe RH Factor: Distractions
by Chris M. Slawecki
A straight-up hard bop player of often stunning ability, Roy Hargrove (RH) needs to play more than straight-up hard bop, and sometimes he embarks on outside projects like The RH Factor for explorations beyond the jazz repertoire. He performs on trumpet and flugelhorn here, with an experimental laboratory that includes a double rhythm section (bassists Reggie Washington and Lenny Stalworth; drummers Jason “JT Thomas and Willie Jones III), guitarist Todd Parsnow, and three keyboard players (Bobby Sparks, Charles McCambell, Renee ...
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