Trumpeter
Roy Hargrove's debut as a leader found him occasionally recalling
Freddie Hubbard but already sounding fairly original in the hard bop genre. On a quartet version of "Easy To Remember,"
Hargrove shows restraint and maturity in his lyrical ballad statement while featuring his strong bop chops on most of the other selections. Among the many other up-and-coming voices heard on this 1989 set are pianist
Geoffrey Keezer (who contributes three originals and shows what he had picked up from
McCoy Tyner), the fluid altoist
Antonio Hart and drummer
Ralph Peterson, Jr. Tenor-saxophonist
Ralph Moore, pianist
John Hicks and drummer
Al Foster are also in the notable supporting cast. The one fault to the CD is that the performances and solos are often a little too brief, with all but "Whisper Not" in the 4-6 minute range. But for a debut,
Roy Hargrove can still be proud of
Diamond In The Rough.