HardGroove breaks with the sound of Hargrove's previous two releases: the string-laden standards album Moment To Moment and 2002's Directions In Music with Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker.
Moving away from the more conventional jazz sound of those records, HardGroove states its purpose tentatively with the title track's funky guitars, provided by Spanky and Cornell Dupree, and the grooving horns of Hargrove on trumpet, Jacques Schwartz-Bart and Keith Anderson on tenor and alto saxophone respectively. A basic jazz crescendo still keeps ties with the more conventional, although there is a clear intention to try something different.
The second track, 'Common Free Style' announces this new intention with verve. The cut begins with a drum beat that would normally be deemed too simple for jazz, but allied with Reggie Washington's bass provides a funky and inescapable rhythm. The vocal from rapper Common, with whom Hargrove had collaborated on 2000's Like Water For Chocolate, brings a mesh of hip-hop, funk, and jazz to create an eminently danceable tune, and is the real signpost for the record which follows.
Q-Tip and Erykah Badu
HardGroove is also characterised by its wealth of guest talent, all contemporary and engaging artists from the worlds of hip-hop and neo-soul. 'I'll Stay' features D'Angelo, it's slow-burning, misty ambience created by the employment of a Wurlitzer and B3 Organ and an emotive and bluesy guitar solo from Spanky.
Anthony Hamilton over-dubs his own vocals to create a passionate and yearning opening to 'Kwah/Home' which soon transforms into a groove-laden affirmation of love which reflects the vocals of Wilson Pickett and the woodwind melody of some of Donald Byrd's mid-70s work.
'Poetry' opens with Hargrove taking a turn on keys, creating a near-vibraphone-like sound over which Q-Tip lays his relaxed and knowing lyrics. Neo-soul songstress Erykah Badu, on whose Mama's Gun album Hargrove performed, adds her own relaxed and deeply soulful voice to the latter half of the track, the floating trumpets and saxophones meshing effectively with her vocals to create a blissful, summery feeling.
Renee Neufville
Renee Neufville cannot share the same recognition as Badu, Common, or Q-Tip, but her co-writing credit and vocal on 'Juicy' led to her assimilation into the RH Factor and an increased presence on the follow-up records, Strength and Distractions. The distorted opening of the cut flows into the James Poyser's Rhodes, and the swooning combination of Hargrove on flugelhorn and Karl Denson on flute. The horns take a back seat to introduce Neufville's vocal, both playful and sexy, which becomes another instrument, playing off the flugelhorn and Rhodes.
'How I Know' also features the softer tones of the flugelhorn and the comparatively unknown Shelby Johnson on vocals. The track is the nearest the record comes to a straight-ahead love song, Johnson's overlaid, slightly husky vocals and the gentle guitar work being underpinned with fine B3 organ from Bobby Sparks.
HardGroove Jazz
HardGroove does feature some examples of Hargrove and his band cutting loose, without the aid of a vocalist. Album closer 'The Stroke' allows Hargrove the chance to show his range on the trumpet, and Jacques Schwarz-Bart matches him on tenor, the two sparring and coming together with ease, ending the record on a smooth, minor-chord directed groove.
'Liquid Streets' proves an appropriate name, the finger-snaps of Dontae Winslow gently prodding along Schwarz-Bart and Hargrove as they conjure up the image of a blissful, dreamy, summer's night. 'The Joint' hints at a modern sound with its opening Arp work from Bobby Sparks, before Hargrove's trumpet provides a misleading diversion into smooth jazz.
The multiple drums and percussion keep the track funky and contemporary, an avenue fully explored on 'Out Of Town', which features an abnormal rhythm and the frenzied competition between four saxophones and a trumpet.
HardGroove won acclaim for its willingness to bring together jazz, hip-hop, and soul. Whilst not a completely new idea, the record worked due to Hargrove's mission statement in the liner notes: 'I've always felt that music should not only sound good - but feel good as well'. With this emphasis, the trumpeter created a record of eminently danceable tracks which made the RH Factor a much-desired touring act.
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