Record Store Day is just around the corner — this Saturday, as if you didn’t know — and among the seasonal windfall of historical jazz recordings is one that I’m excited to share with you all: BERN, a posthumous offering from Roy Hargrove, captured at a festival performance in Switzerland in May of 2000.
I had the honor of writing the liner notes for this album, which was produced by the estimable Zev Feldman and James Batsford in partnership with the Roy Hargrove Estate, and is releasing on Feldman’s Time Traveler Recordings. I hope you’ll check out the notes when you buy the album, which makes a strong case for the turn-of-the-century Roy Hargrove Quintet as one of the fiercest and finest bands of its era.
In preparation, I convened a band reunion last fall for the three surviving members of the group: alto saxophonist Sherman Irby, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Willie Jones III. We had a soulful and cathartic conversation over Zoom, talking about the unsurpassable experience of playing in that band, and the inimitable forces of nature that were Roy Hargrove1 and pianist Larry Willis.2 After the interview, I asked permission to share the video with you here, and everyone graciously agreed.
The source material for BERN was a concert film originally broadcast on European television and restored and remastered from the original tapes by Matthew Lutthans. To celebrate the album’s release, Roy Hargrove Legacy is hosting a film screening at The Jazz Gallery on Tuesday, April 28 at 7 p.m. As part of the event, I’ll be moderating a Q&A with some of the project’s key collaborators — members of the band as well as Feldman and others. If you can make it out, be sure to say hello.
I’ll leave you with “Circus,” the closing track on BERN, and a great illustration of the sharp intensity of this band. More on that, and much more, in the interview. Enjoy!
My NPR Music obituary for Roy Hargrove ran on Nov. 3, 2018. On the fifth anniversary of his passing, in 2023, I wrote this remembrance at The Gig.
I also wrote an obituary for Larry Willis at WBGO, my affiliation at the time, with quotes from presenter Todd Barkan and Willis’ childhood friend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
