Earfood

I won’t lie. Growing up, I hated this kid. His arrogance offended my arrogance.

Hargrove and me grew up playing in bands together, first middle school and then in high school. My mother wouldn’t allow me to attend the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts in Dallas, but I continued my wingman position as a member of the wall of sound (at least in our minds) cover/show band, THE FUTURE.

Erykah Badu once lamented, “Roy Hargrove has a relationship with music that most people never get”. Now it took years for her to say this but if I had the wisdom to use those words at age thirteen, I would have said exactly the same thing. But at thirteen it just comes out as, “How did he hear that?” When we were under the tutelage of our mentor S. Dean Hill, he would use a term to describe the extraordinary ability of a young musician to interpret and play what he heard or improvise with skill and precision. He would say, “He’s got big ears…” He often said that about Grove. And I agree. I may have hated this kid because of his arrogance. But he was arrogant because he knew he would be a star…and the rest of us knew it too.

I must admit I was a fan of his playing from the beginning. Everything about playing music at that point in our lives was about blasting notes in high registers. I was an alto player and I remember the first full band practice we had, I couldn’t stay in my seat for trying to see who the trumpet player was that was “screamin’”. Until then, the only people I knew who had that ability were my cousin Don and his band mates at one of the local high schools and the trumpet players at Prairie View A & M and Grambling State. Also the way he twisted melodies when he improvised was so cool. He was way mature in his playing. Our middle school Jazz Band played a tune arranged by Maynard Ferguson, The Way We Were that featured a written solo that Ferguson himself played. Grove sounded exactly like the record. I was amazed.

I decided to make owning Hargrove’s catalog a priority after his first record Diamond in the Rough. I decided to do so mostly out of loyalty to an old band mate who I wanted to see succeed. But the more I listened to his records, I started buying out of fandom too, not just loyalty. I even became a fan of a couple of his early sidemen, most notably, sax man Antonio Hart and pianist Marc Cary. Hart’s Don’t You Know I Care, from the recording titled the same is one of my most favorite ballads. And Marc Cary’s record, Rhodes Ahead, which is his foray into jazz by way of electric pianos led by his Fender Rhodes play, made me view electric music in a different way. I also believe that, by Grove’s very appearance on the record, led him to the work he did on The RH Factor think Liquid Streets.

I think Hargrove’s document, With the Tenors of Our Time¸ is brilliant in form and content. I could only wish that Sonny Rollins, my 2nd favorite sax player had been on this date. But Joe Henderson (my favorite sax player) was there and that adds to its brilliance for me.

Earfood is Roy’s latest offering. I think the title is mad corny, but the record is incredible. Or should I say it’s nourishing to be as corny as the title. When Grove stepped on the scene, he brought bop back to the underground and his name became significant with the Boho set. Those who followed jazz found his sound to be energetic and fun. The moniker, young lion, fit him well. Most of the boho set came to him via Badu’s Mama’s Gun, and D’Angelo’s Voodoo. During this period, he also made appearances on Common’s Like Water for Chocolate and John Mayer’s Heavier Things.

For me, Earfood, has become one of those theme music recordings. I find that it has served as a soundtrack for many of daily activities. From the mundane driving to work to leaving it on in the garage while I sort Christmas lights and string them on trees. It just works.

I find it difficult to put this record in just a “jazz” category because it plays like an amalgamation of Jazz, Soul, Funk and Gospel. My guess is the title speaks to ones need for a well-balanced meal. And whatever you like about music, I think you will find it here. This is the reason I love this record on so many levels. I can point to specific songs on all of the previous documents that make me stop and listen. This record has fewer weak spots. But regardless how weak I may suggest one or two of the cuts are on this record, Hargrove still plays with a bravado and self-assuredness that reminds you to be cool while listening.

If I wanted someone to love this record as much as I do, the first cut I would play him or her is Strasbough/St. Denis. It’s a funky four anchored by a bass line that grooves as hard as any funk cut you’ve ever heard. The call and response part of the melody between he and his sax man is playful and spirited. The intro is a cut penned by Cedar Walton, I’m Not So Sure that will put you in the mind of Trying To Make It Real Compared to What. Grove never played much Flugelhorn while we were in school. He could play it like most instruments, but it wasn’t his “axe”. Clearly, by way of the ballads on this recording, he is becoming much more comfortable. “Lush” is the word that would aptly describe his Flugelhorn playing.

Though he won a Grammy for his Latin Jazz document, Habana, this may be his best yet.

Discography:
Ear Food [The Roy Hargrove Quintet] (Emarcy, 2008)
Distractions [The RH Factor] (Verve, 2006)
Nothing Serious [The Roy Hargrove Quintet] (Verve, 2006)
Moment to Moment (Verve, 2000)
Crisol: Habana (Verve, 1997)
Parker's Mood (Verve, 1995) [Trio w/ Christian McBride (Bass), and Stephen Scott (Piano)]
Family (Verve, 1995)
With the Tenors of Our Time (Verve, 1994)
Approaching Standards (Jive/Novus, 1994)
Of Kindred Souls (Live) (Novus, 1993)
The Vibe (Novus, 1992)
Toyko Sessions (Novus, 1991)
Public Eye (Novus, 1990)
Diamond in the Rough (Novus, 1989)
The RH Factor, Distractions (Verve, 2006)
The RH Factor, Strength [EP] (Verve, 2004) The RH Factor, Hard Groove (Verve, 2003)