Earfood

Performer: Roy Hargrove
Producer: Larry Clothier; Roy Hargrove...
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Roy Hargrove: Roy Hargrove (trumpet, flugelhorn); Justin Robinson (flute, alto saxophone); Gerald Clayton (piano); Danton Boller (bass instrument); Montez Coleman (drum). Trumpeter Roy Hargrove emerged in the 1980's jazz scene as something of a prot�g� of Wynton Marsalis. EARFOOD is Hargrove's debut for the reactivated Emarcy imprint, and here he balances a reverence for classic jazz (hard bop and soul jazz, specifically) with a yearning for a larger audience. With 13 selections, both originals and choice covers, Hargrove's quintet opts for a sleek, direct approach--solos are terse and spirited, the melodies engagingly catchy in the manner of Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, and Hugh Masekela. EARFOOD is earnest, straight-ahead jazz, loaded with smarts, swing, and soul.

Down Beat (p.73) - "[The blends] are smartly arranged and stirred for body and texture....'I'm Not So Sure' opens the program with a funky riff that inspires Hargrove to a fleeting blast of heat..." JazzTimes (p.58) - "Hargrove is playing as well as he ever has here....Easy-to-grasp but impossible-to-exhaust tunes and grooves..."

Not content to be a highly respected post-bop trumpeter and flugelhorn player, displaying technical mastery and graceful expressiveness, Roy Hargrove continually explores musical possibilities. He has led jazz quartets, big bands, an Afro-Cuban ensemble called Crisol, and the experimental R&B band RH Factor. The Texas-born Hargrove studied briefly in the late 1980s at both the Berklee College of Music and the New School, and by 1990, at the age of 21, he'd already released his first solo album on Novus/RCA. He released several more records on RCA before moving to Verve, and continues to mesmerize audiences with his inventive playing and sonic experimentations.

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