Roy Hargrove

I can't believe I have been journaling for over a year and not yet written about Roy Hargrove.

Roy is a jazz trumpeter who loves music in the large. He made a name for himself as one of the young lions in the 90's, playing post-bop and ballads, but his music goes far beyond that and resonates deeply with me. I like the straight-up post-bop stuff where he really cooks; I love the more hip-hop stuff with RH Factor and his appearances with Common, D'Angelo and others. But what I love the most is the pure emotion he evokes with the flugelhorn on a ballad. His tone, his control, his phrasing, they all combine to turn my spine into Jello.

A couple weekends ago, Roy and his band were at the Jazz Showcase. After Maria and the kids left town to visit Maria's family, I made a very indulgent weekend of it and went to see him three times: the Friday early set, the Saturday late set, and the Sunday matinee. It was awesome.

Actually Friday's early set left me a little worried. I just wasn't feeling it. I understand that the piano player is new to the group--maybe that's what was holding the group back. Roy seemed to spend most of his time sitting to the side of the stage. The pianist was content to stay tightly in the middle register.

The Saturday late set put all fears aside. From the first song, Roy was moving around the stage in the way that says the real music is happening now. The pianist was moving out of his comfort zone. Then Corey Wilkes and a tenor player joined in, and they blew the roof off the place. No surprise guests on Sunday, but an equally fulfilling set from the group, apparently more at ease with each other after a week of gigs together in one place. It was standing room only on Sunday. I stood happily at the back of the room and soaked it all in. It was a fantastic, indulgent weekend.