Roy Hargrove, Grammy-winning jazz trumpet player, dies at 49

Roy Hargrove, a prolific trumpet player who has given his jazz sound to records of various styles and won two Grammys, has died at 49, said his manager Saturday. Hargrove died Friday in New York from the aftermath of a cardiac arrest resulting from a long-standing fight against kidney disease, said his longtime director, Larry Clothier, in a statement.

Clothier said that Hargrove "was known as intensely for his overflowing fire and fury as for his magnificent, iconic ballad, his sound attesting to and sanctifying his deep love of landscape music."

Many Hargrove peers considered him the greatest trumpeter of his generation. Through his own bands and as a sideman, Hargrove has mixed his jazz with African and Latin sounds, R & B, soul, pop, funk and hip-hop.

He directed the progressive band The RH Factor, played in sessions for Common, Erykah Badu and D'Angelo, and collaborated with jazz giants, including Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis.

"It's literally the horn section I hear in my head when I think about music," Instagram Instagram drummer and Roots leader Instagram Questlove said. "Love for the immortal and timeless genius who will forever remain Roy Hargrove."

Originally from Waco, Texas, Hargrove was discovered by fellow trumpet player Marsalis while he was playing at a high school specializing in the performing arts in Dallas. He then attended Boston's Berklee College of Music and was transferred to New York's New School, where he participated in jam sessions at jazz clubs in the evening. One of these clubs, the Blue Note, said Saturday on his Twitter account that Hargrove was a "young master and friend left too early".

Hargrove released his first solo album, "Diamond in the Rough", in 1990. He won his first Grammy in 1998 with his Afro-Cuban band Crisol for his album "Habana". He then won another title in 2002 for "Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall", featuring a group led by pianist Herbie Hancock and saxophonist Michael Brecker.

Questlove, who has worked with Hargrove on several projects, said his improvisation skills were amazing.

"I can not document how crucial Roy was with his craftsman," he said. "We NEVER gave him instructions: he just played the song and watched it go."

The music community also paid tribute to Hargrove's death.

"I do not have words on the loss of my dear brother of 31 years," said bassist Christian McBride on Twitter. "We played a lot of sessions together, traveled a lot of kilometers together, laughed a lot together, we squabbled on the occasion – and I would not change our relationship for anything in the world, God bless you, Roy Hargrove. "

Trumpet player and composer Keyon Harrold has called Hargrove "a trumpet jazz king" on Instagram. "The spirit that emanated from his bell was still a youthful force fascinated by the wisdom of yore," Harrold said.

Hargrove is survived by his wife Aida, daughter Kamala, mother Jacklyn and brother Brian. Memorial plans are in preparation, but no details have been announced yet.