Moment to Moment

Moment to Moment

Since the 1950s, the album <i>Clifford Brown with Strings</i> has set the standard for playing ballads on the trumpet. In the 1980s, Wynton Marsalis's <i>Hot House Flowers</i> was a welcome addition to that ballad tradition. With <I>Moment to Moment</I>, Roy Hargrove sets a soft tone for the 21st century. Backed by alto saxophonist Sherman Irby, pianist Larry Willis, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Willie Jones III, Hargrove's tender trumpet and flügelhorn beautifully combine the best of Freddie Hubbard's power and Art Farmer's phrasing. Draped with pillow-soft orchestrations by Hargrove, Willis, Cedar Walton, and Gil Goldstein, the leader sings through his horn with a longing and lyrical melodic touch. Chestnuts like "You Go to My Head," Antonio Carlos Jobim's "How Insensitive," and the title track by Henry Mancini come alive with the same freshness found on Hargrove's newer gems, including Pat Metheny's tearful "Always and Forever" and the trumpeter's own "Natural Wonders." Simply put, this offering from Roy Hargrove is a splendid love letter for a new century. <I>--Eugene Holley Jr.</I>