High energy and concise phrasemaking are not often encountered in the same player, but when they are, the musical results can be startling.
The proof was plain to hear Tuesday night at the Jazz Showcase, where trumpeter Roy Hargrove argued persuasively for the art of pithy improvisation.
In an era when many players of Hargrove’s relatively youthful vintage are eager to display their speed, power and general technical prowess, Hargrove seems blithely unaware of such considerations. Nor is he particularly interested in revisiting familiar stylistic landmarks of the bebop and post-bop vocabularies.
And judging by his exceptional opening-night set, Hargrove these days isn’t too keen on recycling the greatest jazz hits of the past 20 to 30 years. In other words, there wasn’t a note of Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter or Miles Davis to be heard.
Instead, in a set devoted to originals by every member of his quintet, Hargrove worked toward a lean, stripped-down musical syntax. Eighth notes, quarter notes and whole notes were his primary tools, though he tossed in occasional flourishes and scalar runs for variety’s sake.
Melodically, the trumpeter leaned toward wide-open intervals that gave his solos considerable sweep and power. Rhythmically, he addressed offbeats with unmistakable force.
Though nearly every tune that Hargrove and friends played made a strong impression, some of the most shattering sounds came early on, in a performance of Hargrove’s “Depth.”
To hear the trumpeter’s high-register solos backed by Sherman Irby’s throaty riffs on alto was to believe more than two players held the front line.
Moreover, Hargrove’s sonic power was of a kind that suggested still more strength held in reserve. As the tune of the title suggested, there was plenty of depth in the Hargrove-Irby sound, and that was only the evening’s curtain-raiser.
The beauty of featuring compositions by various band members lies in the sheer variety of ideas the ensemble can pursue. In bassist Gerald Cannon’s “The Pookie Dook,” for instance, the emphasis wasn’t on power but rather on simplicity, with the ensemble playing a straightforward tune above a gently swaying bass line. If the tune evoked Nat Adderley’s “Work Song,” it nevertheless had a melodic elegance of its own.
Pianist Larry Willis’ “Isabel the Liberator” drew a great deal from Iberian musical culture, at times evoking the Miles Davis/Gil Evans “Sketches of Spain.” But Hargrove’s sleek and unsentimental lines, Irby’s riffs on a single pitch and Willis’ rhapsodic solo distinguished the piece from its famous forebear.
Even drummer Willie Jones III had a tune in the mix, with Hargrove turning to fluegelhorn to play Jones’ ballad “Another Time.”
Considering that this was opening night of Hargrove’s annual, Thanksgiving week Showcase engagement, one hardly can imagine the intensity level these players will achieve by week’s end.
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The Roy Hargrove Quintet plays through Sunday (including Thanksgiving) at the Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; phone 312-670-BIRD.
