There's no one standard model of jazz, but there are standards.
There's a standard repertoire, for sure; also, standard conventions of instrumentation, group interaction, overall "sound."
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove, when he commits to playing straight-ahead jazz, leads a quintet that is very comfortable with those standards.
If you're new to jazz, it would seem distantly familiar, like how you might imagine jazz to be. If you aren't new to jazz, you might just find it proves how satisfying those standards remain, and how much room for self-expression is in them.
There's a standard repertoire, for sure; also, standard conventions of instrumentation, group interaction, overall "sound."
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove, when he commits to playing straight-ahead jazz, leads a quintet that is very comfortable with those standards.
If you're new to jazz, it would seem distantly familiar, like how you might imagine jazz to be. If you aren't new to jazz, you might just find it proves how satisfying those standards remain, and how much room for self-expression is in them.
At the Vanguard, he started the set off with a number of tunes by mentors —
Cedar Walton, Walter Booker, John Hicks, so forth — and standards.
(He even took a vocal turn on "Never Let Me Go.")
The second half brought more original compositions, including the funky signature "Strasbourg/St. Denis."
Hargrove stood aside one peer, alto saxophonist
Justin Robinson, and in front of a younger rhythm section — his working band.
Set List
- "The Lamp Is Low" (de Rose/Shefter)
- "Hindsight" (Cedar Walton)
- "After The Morning" (John Hicks)
- "Book's Bossa" (Walter Booker)
- "Mr. AT" (Walter Bolden)
- "Rouge" (Hargrove)
- "Never Let Me Go" (Livingston/Evans)
- "Like That" (Hargrove)
- "Strasbourg/St. Denis" (Hargrove)
- "Bring It On Home To Me" (Sam Cooke)
Roy Hargrove is 41 now, decades after his talent was "discovered" at a Dallas, Texas, arts magnet high school by Wynton Marsalis.
He became something of a teenage prodigy, touring Europe and Japan before age 17 and playing with jazz legends before he could legally drink.
Hargrove's early studio efforts focused on his jazz playing — since then, he's also explored Afro-Cuban music with an ensemble called Crisol and started a funk and soul fusion band called the RH Factor.
(He's also been tapped to play behind Erykah Badu, Common and D'Angelo as a sideman.)
Personnel
- Roy Hargrove, trumpet/vocals
- Justin Robinson, alto saxophone
- Sullivan Fortner, piano
- Ameen Saleem, bass
- Montez Coleman, drums
