Customer Reviews

Nothing Serious

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At last the great Roy Hargrove comes back to the way he must have never got away from. This is pure, golden Jazz and it is very serious.

Roy Hargrove in the Jazz tradition from his early recordings with a new group and with Slide Hampton playing trombone in no more than three out of the eight tracks. Great!

The same uptempo swinging tracks and slowdown ballads with a samba track (what a delight!)which have marked Hargrove's Jazz albums.

A great 2006 surprise to celebrate Hargrove's return to his roots after a long time trying new ways, boring ways.

By the way, this is the true 'new way' for Hargrove: brand-new and creative compositions by members of the group, one by Hargrove, an inspired 'Day in Vienna' by Slide Hampton plus one only standard, the great Bronislau Kaper's 'Invitation' from the self-titled movie picture. Well balanced!

A delicious toast to Jazz! Cheers!

... releases by Hargrove out now is another stellar turn at just how remarkable and inventive and vibrant a band leader he is. DISTRACTIONS is a great fun record, this is a powerhouse of intricate turns on jazz standard style music, with a subtlety and a dynamism that often gets buried by those attempting to preserve the "purity of jazz." Whatever that is.
In Hargrove's case, the point is shut up and play. And does he ever! In so doing he has assembled a group of colleagues who still have something to prove within a given context - i.e. that this context can still matter vitally to how you consider your life. And while it is ironically titled, his irony underscores the accomplishments he has effected with this terrific release. You'll like everything about this: it was recorded nearly perfectly - the definition among the players is clear. The music reaches over and pulls you into its confidence, and you will find yourself coming away from the experience beaming with ideas. This is a truly inspirational effort and without making any more of it, let's just say that God help us all if Roy gets real serious.

The man can play jazz. It may just be a coincidence, but after seeing Roy Hargrove in concert with Herbie Hancock last year, this CD sounds better than any of Hargrove's previous albums, all of which are good.
Fast or slow, hard or easy the music just sounds terrific.

This is just to say I'm happy Roy got back into his groove and has apparently escaped the clutches of those who tried dressing him in alien robes. He sounds great on this set, and the addition of Slide is a welcome intergenerational romp. As for the reviewer who whines of his own ennui with hard bop, etc., and takes the opportunity to rank on Wynton Marsalis: that sort of "see how hip I am" naysaying and peronal attack is so lame. Suggestion: pick up your horn and do something about it - and may the spirit of Art Blakey forgive you.

Overall, I think this is an excellent disc. Good bop-style on some tracks, great tone by Hargrove on the more mellow ones. This disc by Hargrove deserves much praise for a few reasons: clever compositions, great playing, and choosing Willie Jones III for some very nice percussion! Hargrove can swing like the former Blue-Note horn players, yet is still a fresh sound. Solid jazz CD, and worth the money....

More contemporary than usual for Roy and definitly less soulful than his earlier pieces.

In general, I've grown more than a little weary of hard bop. That's my disclaimer.

However.

Roy Hargrove may be the finest purveyor alive of this somewhat tired and hackneyed music. Hence, how can I not give him five stars?

I can't.

That doesn't mean this is my favorite kind of music. Personally, I think Hargrove's disc Habana achieves greater heights. It fully integrates an authentic world music vibe ably mapped onto transcendent jazz. Nothing Serious, as accomplished as it is (and it is VERY accomplished), still operates within a rather shopworn and safe zone of music, i.e., hard bop, and seldom transcends its genre.

What I wish Ray Hargrove would do is meld his two projects, RH Factor and this acoustic project, to come up with something truly distinctive. Habana comes closest to that, and I implore him to continue to explore that and similar musical amalgamations.

Otherwise, I fear he will become more safe than dynamically exploritory--a kind of Wynton clone.

And, heaven knows, we certainly don't need another one of those.

I'm a man of few words so I'll put it this way, this cd is good but not great. None of the tracks reach out and grab you. Though it's better than okay.