Hard Groove

HARGROVE ROY HARD GROOVE

Most jazz-meets-hip-hop collaborations suffer from stiff beats plastered over abstract, high-minded solos. Not so with this collection from the '70s-bred, Texan-born trumpet wunderkind. Sure, he knows the musical language and lineages of Clifford Brown and Miles Davis. But he's also down with contemporaries like D'Angelo, Q-Tip, and homegirl Erykah Badu, who appear on this star-studded CD. Hargrove is backed by an in-the-pocket assemblage of jazz-honed phenoms featuring keyboardist Marc Cary, alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, and flautist Karl Denson. They all put their grooves where their guts are, and the music evokes tinges of Donald Byrd's back-in-the-day waxworks. D'Angelo's down-home delivery lights up Funkadelic's psychedelic slow drag, "I'll Stay," while ebullient Common kicks up the verbal virtuosity on "Common Free Style." The Q-Tip/Erykah Badu cut "Poetry" could be a summer anthem. Throughout this tasty and tasteful project Roy Hargroove's cool and clarion trumpet tones provide the right sonic seasoning for this dancing and delectable disc. --Eugene Holley, Jr.