Habana

by Roy Hargrove, Roy Hargrove's Crisol

Overview

At last, this highly touted, heretofore conservative Young Lion makes his move beyond neo-bop toward something new, fresh, and potentially important. He had to go to Havana to find it, starting with some jam sessions with Cuba's Los Van Van dance band in February 1996, which led to the formation of an exciting ten-piece U.S./Cuban band called Crisol. True, this album is a somewhat subdued recorded debut; as heard at the Playboy Jazz Festival in June 1997, Crisol is obviously capable of real thermal combustion. But one can still hear the embryo of its complex fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythm, bop, and progressive jazz impulses on this disc. Hargrove himself still seems dazzled by his new discovery, groping a bit for direction in his own solos. But challenged by the asymmetrical rhythms, he takes more chances and jaggedly strikes some fire. Irakere's Chucho Valdes, an awesome pianist and progressive-minded musician, is one of the anchors of the band, and Russell Malone contributes some of his meatiest, most driven guitar work. The tune that remains most indelible in the memory is trombonist Frank Lacy's "O My Seh Yeh," which opens and closes the CD in neat, bookended fashion. But the most promising track is a smoking arrangement of Kenny Dorham's "Afrodisia," where the heat of this cross-cultural exchange rises well above room temperature. One can only hope that U.S. and Cuban politicos will forego their usual roadblocks and allow these meetings to continue. ~ Richard S. Ginell

Product Details

Release Date:	12/02/2022
Label:	Universal
UPC:	4988031525180
Rank:	253

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Roy Hargrove   Primary Artist,Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Roy Hargrove's Crisol   Primary Artist
Frank Lacy   Guest Artist,Trombone
Russell Malone   Guest Artist,Guitar
Idris Muhammad   Guest Artist
Gary Bartz   Guest Artist,Sax (Soprano),Sax (Alto)
John Benitez   Guest Artist,Bass
Jorge Reyes   Guest Artist
John Hicks   Guest Artist
David Sanchez   Guest Artist,Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano)
Ed Rak   Sequencing
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez   Drums
Chucho Valdes   Piano
Miguel "Anga" Diaz   Congas
Jose Luis Quintana Fuerte   Timbales

Technical Credits

Kenny Dorham   Composer
Larry Clothier   Mixing,Producer
Ed Rak   Mixing,Editing,Mastering
Frank Lacy   Composer
Chucho Valdes   Composer
Richard Seidel   Executive Producer
Roy Hargrove   Composer,Producer
Gary Bartz   Composer
Adam Blackburn   Engineer,Mixing
Larry Blumenfeld   Liner Notes
Carlo Pagnotta   Associate Producer
Patricia Lie   Art Direction,Design
Camille Tominaro   Production Coordination