Roy Hargrove, trumpet player who gave jazz a jolt of youth, dies at 49

In the 2000s, he released three discs with RH Factor, a great ensemble that built its own style from electrified hip-hop grooves and fat 1970s funk.

He maintained the spirit that guided these investigations – a creative fervor, tempered by a coolness – in Roy Hargrove's quintessential, more traditional, formatted, reliable group that he maintained for the better part of his life. part of his career. On "Earfood", one of the highlights of the end of his career, the quintet enchants, ranging from scholarly updates of jazz classics to original ballads and new tunes blending southern heat and hip-hop in a format of standard jazz.

At the age of 20, Mr. Hargrove was already giving back to the New York jazz scene that had made him his crown prince. In 1995, along with singer Lezlie Harrison and organizer Dale Fitzgerald, he founded the Jazz Gallery, a small downtown venue that is now New York's most trusted venue for cutting edge presentations of young musicians of jazz.

In his last days, harried by health problems, Mr. Hargrove was an integral part of the jam sessions at Smalls in Greenwich Village. When he was not on tour, he was spending several nights a week in this low-ceiling basement, his slightly dressed and dressed executive emerging from time to time from a corner to explode a smoky and discreet solo.

Roy Anthony Hargrove was born on October 16, 1969 in Waco, Texas, and grew up primarily in Dallas, where his family moved at the age of 9. His father, Roy Allen Hargrove, served in the air force and then in a factory for Texas Instruments. Her mother, Jacklyn Hargrove, has held office jobs, including as an administrator at Dallas County Jail.

Mr. Hargrove is survived by his mother; his wife, Aida; a girl, Kamala; and his brother, Brian.

Quiet and retiring by nature, Mr. Hargrove has developed a close attachment to music. "My parents were not very present. I was rather in solitude, "he told Piazza. "At first I wanted to play the clarinet, but we did not have money. My dad had a cone he bought from a pawnbroker, so I played that. I've learned to love him. "

Framed by his high school teacher, Mr. Hargrove showed his talents very early. He has played in jazz education festivals and at conferences with his high school group, and rumors about his virtuosity have spread.