Roy Hargrove

Overview

In this section, we'll consider a number of artists who distinguished themselves in the late 80s, the 90s, and early 2000s. We will note the important contributions of several American and Cuban artists to Latin jazz, and follow the "mainstreaming" of Latin jazz over the last quarter-century. We will also hear from a number of international jazz artists who incorporate indigenous folk music from around the world into their music, and have thus made a significant contribution to the globalization of jazz.

Objectives

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to do the following:

Recognize some of the key American and Cuban jazz artists and their contributions to Latin jazz
Recognize some of the international figures in jazz who contribute to the globalization of jazz
Recognize some of the recent jazz artists, both mainstream and progressive, whose art continues to fuel the debate about the future of jazz—and what jazz is

Born in Waco, Texas, Roy Hargrove (b. 1969) is a versatile and virtuosic trumpeter who has explored various aspects of contemporary jazz. Solidly grounded in a straight-ahead, neo-classicalA genre of jazz music that emerged in the 1980s, characterized by a return to traditional jazz instruments and the origins of jazz: blues and swing. style, Hargrove has sought to expand the boundaries of mainstream jazz with a host of collaborative projects. While most of his work is in a quartet setting, since the mid-1990s he has also led a big band. In 1997 he founded the Afro-Cuban band Crisol (with pianist Chucho Valdes joining the lineup for some of the group's festival performances). In the early 2000s, Hargrove formed a progressive funk/hip-hop band, The RH Factor, which has enjoyed considerable popularity.

On Hargrove's 1994 album With the Tenors of Our Time, joining the trumpeter and his tenor sideman Ron Blake on the front line is a succession of great tenor sax players, young and old. Among them are veterans Johnny Griffin and Joe Henderson (both since deceased), Branford Marsalis, and a then-much-heralded newcomer, Joshua Redman.

Tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman (b. 1969) is featured on Hargrove's composition Mental Phrasing ♫, a piece that gives us a good idea of the mainstream, neo-classical, post-bop style that continues to draw enthusiastic audiences to jazz. Redman and pianist Cyrus Chestnut (b. 1963) share the bandleader's aesthetic, and each demonstrates a virtuosic mastery of his instrument and the idiom. The solos — from Chestnut (0:42-2:07), Blake (2:08-2:48), Hargrove (2:49-3:30), Redman (3:31-4:51), and Hutchinson (4:51-5:31) — are outstanding. Note, too, the ways in which Hargrove's composition and arrangement allude to the hard-bop collaborations of Clifford Brown and Sonny Rollins. It's a 40-bar form that consists of two 16-bar A sections followed by an 8-bar B section (0:00-0:42). The catchy, uptempo melody is played in octaves by the horns, and it is strongly reminiscent of classic performances by Brown and Rollins. Let's listen Mental Phrasing ♫.

Roy Hargrove Quintet, Mental Phrasing ♫ (Roy Hargrove), New York, January 16 and 17, 1994. Roy Hargrove, trumpet (t); Ron Blake, tenor saxophone (ts); Joshua Redman, tenor saxophone (ts) 2nd solo; Cyrus Chestnut, piano (p); Rodney Whitaker, bass (b); Gregory Hutchinson, drums (d).

"Music, for me, has always been a place where anything is possible--a refuge, a magical world where anyone can go, where all kinds of people can come together, and anything can happen. We are limited only by our imaginations."

-Bill Frisell

"To rise above the crowd, you must discipline yourself unceasingly to the strict demand and realities of your ambition."

-Arturo Sandoval

"I Heard it Through the Grapevine" has been recorded by several different artists, including Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye, and Roger Troutman, who all had #1 R&B hits with their versions, making this the only song to hit #1 on R&B charts for 3 different artists.

songfacts