Happy Birthday Roy Hargrove
The trumpeter from Texas is 45 today. Hargrove was just 21 years old at the recording of his second album “Public Eye”, which was recorded in New York’s Clinton Recording Studios. He had much support from another trumpet master, Wynton Marsalis, and recorded this album with a very young group of musicians who all have made a name of themselves.
Christian McBride, only 18 years old at the time of recording, is on bass. Saxophonist Antonio Hart and pianist Stephen Scott were both in their early twenties. And then there is the legendary drummer Billy Higgins, who has played with everyone from Ornette Coleman to Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk.
“Public Eye” features four Hargrove originals, among them the beautiful “Spiritual Companion”, a few standards and a Kenny Dorham composition (“Night Watch”) which echoes the sound of one of Hargrove’s inspirations: Clifford Brown.
Over the years, he has recorded a Big Band album, a Latin Jazz album, Funk and Soul with his group The RH Factor, and he has worked with everyone from Herbie Hancock to D’Angelo, from Michael Brecker to Nile Rodgers.
He is currently on tour in the Czech Republic, Luxemburg, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, and the UK (see Events section).
