Hard Groove

1	Hardgroove 5:31
2	Common Free Style 5:57
3	I'll Stay 7:50
4	Interlude 0:59
5	Pastor "T" 5:44
6	Poetry 5:48
7	The Joint 5:41
8	Forget Regret 3:52
9	Out of Town 3:58
10	Liquid Streets 4:59
11	Kwah/Home 6:00
12	How I Know 4:56
13	Juicy 6:34
14	The Stroke 4:28

Barnes & Noble

Trumpeter Roy Hargrove follows his romantic, string-laden Moment to Moment with Hard Groove, a fairly fabulous fusion of jazz, R&B, and hip-hop. Coming together as the RH Factor are contemporary jazz players Bernard Wright on keyboards and saxophonist Keith Anderson; Soulive saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart; R&B guitarist Chalmers “Spanky” Alford; old-school guitarist Cornell Dupree; gospel keyboardist Bobby Sparks; jazz bassist Reggie Washington; R&B bassist Meshell Ndegeocello; and a variety of drummers and vocalists. The title cut is an instrumental high point, flashing back to '70s soul jazz with a fresh horn arrangement rising out of the funk. “Pastor T” hits the funk a little bit harder, but Hargrove’s trumpet oozes in and around the groove like melted butter on hotcakes. After an opening rap by Q-Tip, Erykah Badu sings lead on the spacey “Poetry.” Stephanie McKay, who is noted for her work with Tricky, is more interesting on “Forget Regret,” as is Shelby Johnson’s fragile voice on “How I Know.” The best of the guest vocalists is D’Angelo, whose singing builds to a howl on George Clinton’s “I’ll Stay.” Hargrove has played brilliantly on a number of R&B and hip-hop artists’ recordings, and the far-reaching Hard Groove should continue to expand his visibility beyond the jazz audience. Roberta Penn

All Music Guide

A new musical vision for ace jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove has manifested itself in the form of Hard Groove. This neo-soul/jazz project showcases Erykah Badu, Common, D'Angelo, Marc Cary, and jam band icon saxophonist Karl Denson on a 14-track set that is laden with funk, groove, freestyle rap poetry, and sultry hip-hop/R&B mood swings. Hargrove's interesting horn and keyboard improvisations stem from extensive knowledge of each musician's work and, perhaps even more importantly, from close personal friendships developed as an underground club jam session warrior in N.Y.C. He also plays flügelhorn and percussion, and adds background vocals on several compositions. Opening with "Hardgroove," the set eases into a groove that is skillfully combined with Hargrove's meticulous riffs and segues into the band's free interpretation of an all-out jam session. "Common Free Style" is just that, a free rap session crammed with intimate details. This team-up works, and Common's prose style is exemplary in his choice of words and inspiring atmosphere. As one of the ladies who sings with the band, Grammy-winning Erykah Badu presents a valuable addition to the literature of hip-hop and jazz on several levels. On "Poetry," her rap is an entertaining and unpretentious chronicle of knowing the way to go in life, recounted with honesty and sincerity. Overall, Roy Hargrove has evolved as a hipper version of himself and given his listeners an entirely new musical direction than that heard on his Grammy-winning release Habana or his sensuous ballad recording Moment to Moment. Hard Groove is simply an exploration of his multidimensional musical attributes and his belated recognition of years of "open-eared moonlighting." In any case, the ultra-hip trumpeter manages not to alienate his die-hard jazz fans by intersecting with many of the icons of hip-hop, R&B, and neo-soul. Highly recommended. Paula Edelstein