Roy Hargrove was one of the “young lions,” jazz musicians who formed a vanguard of talented newcomers to the jazz scene in the 80s and 90s. Being partial to trumpets, I came across his music while browsing the bins at Tower Records. It’s hard to pin down his style, but his music appealed to me because of its comparative restraint. At the time, it seemed that many young jazz musicians were more interested in showing off their technical virtuosity than exploring lyrical expressiveness. Free jazz and bebop are not my kind of music, and Roy Hargrove, though he could play multiple styles, had a way with ballads that appealed to me.
I believe The Vibe was the first album I bought. The track “The Things We Did Last Summer” caught my attention. Over the years, I’ve listened to that song many times. A piano introduces the song, then recedes into the background as Hargrove’s languidly flowing trumpet takes over. Hearing it, I imagine someone daydreaming about cherished past moments—and that is what I do every time I listen to it. In fact, I would say it is the perfect song for daydreaming—soft, unobtrusive, with longing, melancholy touches.
I spent the last half of the 1990s working in Birmingham, a city that did not grow on me. However, its music festivals did. City Stages was a multi-day affair with hundreds of acts representing nearly every music genre. I went every year. Yet, my favorite festival memory is not of City Stages. No, my favorite festival memory is of a warm evening in late summer spent listening to Roy Hargrove at Sloss Furnaces. At the time, he was in his late 20s with a few critically-acclaimed albums and still in the process of making a name for himself.
Sloss Furnaces, a historical landmark, is a former pig iron production site spruced up for visitors. Being there in the evening as night descends, one is struck by the imposing silhouettes of smokestacks and hot blast stoves as they jut into the sky, their shadows slowly creeping over the landscape. I had to find my way through the grounds to locate the small, but pleasant, grassy area where the canopy and stage stood. This tiny venue, 20 x 30 feet at best, had seating for about 50 people. I got there before the set began, and with a choice of seats, I sat in the last of six rows. That put me at the edge of the canopy, where the sky was still visible. Night was taking over, and the nearly full moon was high enough in the darkening blue of the sky for me to see it.
“The Things We Did Last Summer” was one of the last songs in the one-hour set. The first piano notes told me my favorite song was starting. As I listened, I leaned back, looking up at the moon, nodding an acceptance to the gentle, cooling breeze. Soon, the yearning, wistful tones of Roy’s trumpet began to tell their story—I closed my eyes…
Listen: “Things We Did Last Summer”
