Roy Hargrove

Roy Hargrove is an American jazz trumpeter from Waco, Texas. He is active from the late 1980s and is known for work in hard bop, jazz and post-bop, while also moving between straight-ahead jazz, funk and related contemporary styles.

Early life and training

Born in 1969 in Waco, he takes up trumpet lessons at school in Dallas and is discovered by Wynton Marsalis during a visit to Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. An early influence is saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman, who performs in Ray Charles’s band at Hargrove’s junior high school. He studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston for one year, between 1988 and 1989, and also attends the New School in New York. During this period he is a regular presence at New York jam sessions.

Recording career

Hargrove’s first recording is with saxophonist Bobby Watson, followed soon afterwards by work with Superblue, featuring Watson, Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Washington. His first solo album, Diamond in the Rough, appears in 1990 on Novus/RCA. He then records Public Eye, The Vibe, Jazz Futures: Live in Concert, Of Kindred Souls: The Roy Hargrove Quintet Live, Beauty and the Beast and Blues ’n Ballads in the early 1990s, mainly for Novus.

In 1994 he signs to Verve and records With the Tenors of Our Time with Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Johnny Griffin, Joshua Redman and Branford Marsalis. He follows with Family and Parker’s Mood, the latter a trio recording with bassist Christian McBride and pianist Stephen Scott. He also records Moment to Moment with strings and later releases Nothing Serious.

Groups and collaborations

Hargrove leads several bands, including Roy Hargrove Quintet, Roy Hargrove’s Crisol, The RH Factor, Roy Hargrove Big Band and a later big band project on record. The RH Factor is his progressive group, bringing together jazz with funk, hip-hop, soul and gospel. Its members include Chalmers “Spanky” Alford, Pino Palladino, James Poyser, Jonathan Batiste and Bernard Wright.

He also plays with major jazz figures such as Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock. Other credits include work with Shirley Horn, Common, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Macy Gray, Nile Rodgers, Roy Haynes, John Mayer, Marcus Miller, Angelique Kidjo, Johnny Griffin, Jimmy Cobb, Jimmy Smith and Oscar Peterson, among others.

Key albums and awards

Hargrove wins a Grammy Award for Habana with Crisol, the Afro-Cuban band he founds. He also wins a Grammy for Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall, a co-led recording with Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker. Habana and Directions in Music are among the releases most closely associated with his reputation beyond straight-ahead jazz.

In 2003 he issues Hard Groove with The RH Factor, followed by Strength and Distractions. Later releases include Earfood with the Roy Hargrove Quintet and Emergence with the Roy Hargrove Big Band.

Death

Roy Hargrove dies in 2018.