On Thursday, Sept. 14, the Roy Hargrove Big Band played at Skinner Hall. For many, free tickets meant an opportunity to go out on a Thursday night; for others, it was a way to connect with the jazz creations of the late Roy Hargrove. No matter their reasons for attendance, audience members became part of a grand celebration of talent and legacy through a setlist of riveting solos, striking horns, and powerful rhythms. The talent these musicians possessed was almost supernatural, but as they laughed to each other and shook their heads in appreciation for their friends, you came to feel as if you knew them.
That night, the band consisted of 17 members, including original musicians and some new members. According to his website, Hargrove always dreamt of forming a big band. In 1995, the Roy Hargrove Big Band made its debut. With a rotating cast of musicians, Hargrove and his band released their first album entitled “Emergence” in 2009. To keep the Big Band alive after Hargrove passed away, Roy Hargrove Legacy LLC was founded by his wife, Aida Brandes-Hargrove, and his daughter, Kamala Hargrove. The band was graciously brought to Vassar College by the Alex Krieger ’95 Memorial Fund.
The band plays arrangements of standards and original works written by Hargrove. The first piece they played was “Conservation” by Bobby Watson, Hargrove’s long-time mentor. As the rhythm section kicked off the song with intense energy, all the eyes in the audience widened.
The horns then fell in, perfectly stacked and mixed as if they were one entity. The piece was counted off by music director Bruce Williams, who gave cues while simultaneously playing his own saxophone parts. The first solo of the night was taken by saxophonist Mark Gross, who performed with such emotion that the rest of the band could not help but react. Nearly all the band members had a solo that night, and they were all met with the same joy and respect from their bandmates. They seemed elated just seeing what they had created together. As each of the band members are incredible musicians in their own rights, this awe is not difficult to understand.
Hargrove held immense respect for the people who shaped him, as evidenced by the setlist. The band included a trilogy of Hargrove’s original compositions, named “Velera” after his mother, “Roy Allan” after his father and “Brian’s Bounce” for his brother. “Velera” was a beautiful trumpet-led ballad full of emotional chord changes and atmospheric percussion. This piece was immediately followed by “Roy Allan,” which began with an R&B groove that contrasted with the more standard big band compositions. As soon as the drums began—cued in by a few swings of Williams’ right hand—the audience began to yell in delight. I could tell that the groove of this particular song was the one designed to fully reach this room of students, and it did. The saxophone players in the front row began to clap along to the rhythm that drummer Willie Jones created, and they encouraged us to do the same. It did not take long for nearly everyone in the room to keep time with the band (all clapping on beats two and four, thankfully).
It was a beautiful thing to be in a room with people feeling the beat of a song so implicitly, unafraid to be emotionally moved as their faces scrunched and their knees bounced. This song featured Saul Rubin on guitar, who was cued into a solo. This improvisation bound together big band jazz and modern songwriting, using a slight increase of gain and progressive scales which emanated Hargrove’s influence. “Brian’s Bounce” brought us back into the big band scheme, beginning with a drum solo that filled the whole room. As the other instruments cut out for Jones to solo, it seemed like the dynamics in the room did not even change. Each of these pieces can be found on Hargrove’s 1995 album “Family”, with both “Velera” and “Roy Allan” featured on “Emergence.”
The sense of community the Big Band created was epitomized in the final song. “Ms Garvey Ms Garvey” was a composition by Big Band member and assistant musical director Jason Marshall, who was introduced as having known Hargrove the longest. This was not supposed to be the last song, but after the band played “Requiem” by Frank Lacy, in which saxophones were traded for flutes, Aida Brandes-Hargrove went up on stage and regretfully informed Williams that the show was past its allotted time and had to end soon. Many were upset about the performance being cut short, but the song the band chose to end with certainly salvaged the mood. Williams said that this last song was going to be a party to ensure good feelings and a good semester; it certainly was. Brandes-Hargrove was dancing and clapping in the corner of the room. There were faces smiling and faces in awe of how these musicians were able to play so quickly and with such emotion. In that hall, at a little after 9 p.m. on a Thursday, the room was still incredibly full of life. Stage lights were bouncing off Rubin’s guitar and reflecting shadows on the wall. Soundwaves were hitting every surface and reaching engaged ears. I can confidently say that everyone in that room experienced something great that night.
If you wish to see them play again, the Roy Hargrove Big Band maintains a residency at The Jazz Gallery in New York City, where they play once a month. Perhaps they may even return to the College, judging by the promising response the crowd had given after Williams shouted, “Can we come back?” In the meantime, if you would like to engage further with Roy Hargrove and the Big Band, you can learn more at https://royhargroveofficial.com.