| | Roy Hargrove Hard Groove CD Roy Hargrove Discography of CDs
 (2 Customer Reviews)
"I'll Stay" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.
Having previously explored such varying genres as classic bebop on PARKER'S MOOD, and Latin swing in HABANA, Roy Hargrove turns his attention to urban R&B with this consistently entertaining set. HARD GROOVE is one of the more adventurous albums in the trumpeter's Verve catalogue, featuring hip-hop artists such as Q-Tip and sophisticated R&B singers Erykah Badu and D'Angelo.
As you'd expect from such company, the music is smooth as Courvoisier, especially on such grooving soul cuts as "Forget Regret," with Stephanie Mackay's tough-but-fragile vocals reminiscent of Randy Crawford's work with the Crusaders. And of course Hargrove can't resist a cursory nod to Miles Davis on the all-too-brief "Interlude," with its urban ambience. Mostly, though, HARD GROOVE is that rare delight--high-quality jazz-funk that avoids straying into the realms of lite jazz. Hargrove's tasteful, lyrically swinging trumpet is a constant pleasure, while the impeccably credentialed musicianship negotiates its way through the jazz- and R&B-inflected arrangements with practiced ease.
Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York, New York between January & September 2002.
The RH Factor: Roy Hargrove (arranger, trumpet, flugelhorn, keyboards, bass, percussion); Keith Anderson (alto & tenor saxophones); Jacques Schwarz-Bart (tenor saxophone); James Poyser (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards); Bernard Wright (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards, ARP synthesizer); Bobby Sparks (Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, ARP synthesizer); Spanky, Cornell Dupree (guitar); Pino Palladino, Reggie Washington (bass); Willie Jones III, Jason Thomas (drums).
Producers: Roy Hargrove, Jason Olaine, Russell Elevado.
Additional personnel: D'Angelo (vocals, Wurlitzer piano); Renee Neufville, Stephanie McKay, Shelby Johnson, Erykah Badu (vocals); Common, Q-Tip (rap vocals); Steve Coleman (alto saxophone); Karl Denson (flute); Meshell Ndegeocello (bass); Kwaku Obeng (percussion).Entertainment Weekly (6/13/03, pp.96-7) - "...A mix that stresses thick bass, heavy backbeats, and danceable grooves..." - Rating: B
CMJ (5/19/03, p.8) - "...Tightly focused funk-Jazz and laid-back Hip-Hop/soul is fleshed out over the album's 14 tracks, making for both perfect dinner party music and great headphone listening for those with an obsession for precise sonic analysis..."
Mojo (Publisher) (7/03, p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...HARD GROOVE is stuffed to the gunwales with top notch guests, and the atmosphere is like a rootsy hip hop-soul version of those Quincy Jones jam session albums..." Hard Groove Music | List Price | $18.98 (You save $8.49) | | Category | Rock/Pop Albums, R&B CDs, Jazz Instrument, Rap, Jazz | | Label | Verve | | Orig Year | 2003 | | All Time Sales Rank |  14814  | | CD Universe Part number | 5857059 | | Catalog number | 065192 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | May 20, 2003 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Personnel | Common, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, Karl Denson, Steve Coleman, Renee Neufville, Stephanie McKay, Kwaku Obeng, Shelby Johnson, Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello |
Roy Hargrove Hard Groove Songs Hard Groove Music Review Average Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)  Fantastic and Unique
This new Roy Hargrove (RH Factor) album is amazing. I've heard nothing like it. He blends fusion, jazz, hip-hop, and electronics to create completely fresh, new, and original sound. You hear a lot of artists trying to combine types of music, but on this album there are just elements all blended to create one form that is solely its own. The album is very catchy, but at the same time very deep. I have listened to it countless times already and I've only had it for a week. Roy Hargrove is a virtuoso, using his abilities along with effects to enhance his playing. There are also some great cameos on this album (Common, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Me'shell Ndgeocello, Steve Coleman) that keep a real fresh feel to the whole thing. I'd recommend this album to any music-lover.
Submitted by a reviewer (Plano, TX, USA) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No worldwide underground
it's hard to describe this album. it's just awesome! roy hargrove is guiding music to another level with this one. he is setting new standards. when you hear album's like this, a large quantity of music becomes unsatisfactory because of its lack of creativity and courage.
Submitted by a reviewer (Ft. Worth, TX)
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Purchase Hard Groove CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Branford Marsalis Eternal CD (2004)
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ETERNAL proves (yet again) that saxophonist Branford Marsalis, though no longer a "young lion" of jazz, still has a strong, unique musical voice. This 2004 album begins with "The Ruby and the Pearl," a somber tune that suggests an Argentinean ...
| | Roy Hargrove Strength CD (2004) Extended Play
Hard Groove CD music
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Though it's billed as an EP, STRENGTH is 45 minutes long, and certainly has enough content to qualify for full-length status. RH Factor is jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove's electric jazz-funk alter-ego; under this moniker, the erstwhile straight-ahead jazzman neatly solves the problem that's been plaguing musicians since the early 1970s--how do you mix jazz with funk and electric ...
| | Dave Holland Overtime CD (2005)
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This exceptional date by Dave Holland Big Band was recorded in 2002 in New York, yet remained unreleased until 2005. As is to be expected, Holland assembled a fine cast of seasoned and young players, some of whom are veterans of Holland's quintets and quartets. These are four saxophones -- two alto, tenor and baritone -- three trumpets and trombones, and vibes as well as bass and drums. They include Chris Potter and Robin and Duane Eubanks, Antonio Hart, Steve Nelson, Josh Roseman, Billy Kilson, Taylor Haskins, Gary Smulyan, Jonathan Arons and Alex Sipiagin. The music centers around the opening four-part "Monterey Suite," a tour de force commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival and originally performed there in 2001. Holland's writing for the trombone section is dynamite. Roseman, Arons, and Robin Eubanks ...
| | Dizzy Gillespie Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 CD (2005)
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The historic live Town Hall sessions by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker from 1945 have been discovered on an acetate pressing, and are transferred with digital enhancement to CD. Why this concert was not issued initially is understandable, but Ira Gitler's informative and insightful liner notes suggest they likely were misplaced. What Gitler's essential writing also reveals is that these dates were approximate by only weeks to the original studio recordings of these classics, and there was no small amount of controversy surrounding this revolutionary bebop. Clearly bop was a vehicle for intricate melodic invention followed by lengthy soloing, aspects of which Parker with Gillespie were perfectly suited for. Fact is, the situation surrounding the sonic capture and extended neglected shelf life of this performance was far from optimal. Symphony Sid Torin is the M.C., rambling as always, making repeated references to Dizzy "Jillespie" and misidentifying Max Roach as Sid Catlett on "Salt Peanuts." (Catlett does sit in on "Hot House" in a more supportive than demonstrative role.) The tracks with the brilliant ...
| | Roy Hargrove Distractions CD (2006)
Hard Groove album
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Trumpeter Roy Hargrove issued two albums at the same time in 2006: this one with electric instruments and Nothing Serious, an all-acoustic post-bop-oriented date. Kudos are owed to Verve for standing behind him so supportively in this day and age of safe, bland, and unimaginative "traditional" records. Distractions, like Hard Groove in 2003, is a neo-soul-jazz date with a healthy dose of funk and fusion tossed into the mix. Hargrove's Hard Groove was the first time Hargrove left his bop orientation as a leader, and while that record had ...
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