Roy Hargrove & The RH Factor - Hard Groove (rel.2003)

Front Cover	Album Info
	Artist/Composer Roy Hargrove & The RH Factor Title Hard Groove Length 72:17 Discs: 1 Tracks: 14 Format CD Packaging Jewel Case Label Verve Cat. Number 065192 Style General Jazz Rating

Musicians

Credits

Roy Hargrove trumpet, fluegerhorn, var. Bernard Wright piano, keyboards, var. Maurice Brown trumpet Marc Cary Wurlitzer Cornell Dupree guitar Gene Lake drums Pino Palladino bass James Poyser piano, keyboards Reggie Washington bass Bobby Sparks keyboards Jason Thomas drums John Arthur Lee bass Daniel Moreno percussion Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng percussion Willie Jones III drums Jacques Schwarz-Bart various instruments Chalmers "Spanky" Alford guitar Keith Anderson sax alto, sax tenor G. Craig "Butter" Glanville drums Keith Loftis sax tenor

Producer Roy Hargrove Producer Larry Clothier Producer Russell Elevado Mastering Chris Gehringer Producer Jason Olaine Engineer Steve Mandel

Track list

01 Hardgroove 05:31 02 Common Freestyle 05:57 03 I'll Stay 07:50 04 Interlude 00:59 05 Pastor "T" 05:44 06 Poetry 05:48 07 The Joint 05:41 08 Forget Regret 03:52 09 Out of Town 03:58 10 Liquid Streets 04:59 11 Kwah/Home 06:00 12 How I Know 04:56 13 Juicy 06:34 14 Stroke 04:28

Notes

AMG Review (4): A new musical vision for ace jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove has manifested itself in the form of Hard Groove. This neo-soul/jazz project showcases Erykah Badu, Common, D'Angelo, Marc Cary, and jam band icon saxophonist Karl Denson on a 14-track set that is laden with funk, groove, freestyle rap poetry, and sultry hip-hop/R&B mood swings. Hargrove's interesting horn and keyboard improvisations stem from extensive knowledge of each musician's work and, perhaps even more importantly, from close personal friendships developed as an underground club jam session warrior in N.Y.C. He also plays flügelhorn and percussion, and adds background vocals on several compositions. Opening with "Hardgroove," the set eases into a groove that is skillfully combined with Hargrove's meticulous riffs and segues into the band's free interpretation of an all-out jam session. "Common Free Style" is just that, a free rap session crammed with intimate details. This team-up works, and Common's prose style is exemplary in his choice of words and inspiring atmosphere. As one of the ladies who sings with the band, Grammy-winning Erykah Badu presents a valuable addition to the literature of hip-hop and jazz on several levels. On "Poetry," her rap is an entertaining and unpretentious chronicle of knowing the way to go in life, recounted with honesty and sincerity. Overall, Roy Hargrove has evolved as a hipper version of himself and given his listeners an entirely new musical direction than that heard on his Grammy-winning release Habana or his sensuous ballad recording Moment to Moment. Hard Groove is simply an exploration of his multidimensional musical attributes and his belated recognition of years of "open-eared moonlighting." In any case, the ultra-hip trumpeter manages not to alienate his die-hard jazz fans by intersecting with many of the icons of hip-hop, R&B, and neo-soul. Highly recommended. — Paula Edelstein Guest performers: Steve Coleman - Sax Alt D'Angelo - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr), Wurlitzer Shelly Johnson - Vocals Me'Shell NdegéOcello - Bass Renee Neufville - Vocals Q-Tip - Vocals Karl Denson - Flute Stephanie McKay - Vocals Erykah Badu - Vocals Anthony Hamilton - Vocals Common - Vocals