Before I go into how the show was, let me just say that Harlem Stage/the Gatehouse is absolutely beautiful. The Gatehouse is on the corner of W. 135th and Convent. It was built in the late 1800′s and used as an aqueduct, bringing fresh water into the city. The building has beautiful masonry, stained glass windows and these lovely curves that just make the building truly stand out as an architectural jewel. I find it amazing that such care was taken to design a building with a decidedly practical purpose. You would never see a sewage treatment plant today possessing such beauty.
Given the aquarian roots of the building, it was very appropriate that Roy Hargrove, well-known jazz trumpeteer, introduced his first selection by saying it was “deep, deep like the ocean.” I’m not sure if Hargrove was aware of the building’s history or not, but his comment was right on. Hargrove’s band consists of about 18 musicans and one vocalist, Lezlie Harrison. Watching Hargrove interact with his band members was almost as entertaining as listening to them. As the band deftly went from bluesy, introspective funk to more upbeat, playful rhythms to mid-tempo toe tappers (solos throughout), Hargrove physically, silently and effortlessly let his band members know what he wanted next. A look, a nod or pantomiming a series of notes was all he needed to do.
His wide, boyish grin gleamed from underneath the shadow of his black fedora flecked with a red feather as he enjoyed the passionate solos of his band members and you could also see his quiet leadership with just a nod or a hand gesture indicating when to end. Each of the solos was very good and noteworthy and the band vocalist Lezlie Harrison has a unique smoky edge to her voice.
Q-Tip from the legendary hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest joined in a few songs into the performance. A fitted sweater, jeans and a skull cap that seemed to be covering a mohawk, completed the attire of Kamaal the Abstract as he is sometimes called. Hargrove and Q-Tip are both in their mid-thirties (a baby by jazz standards and ancient by hip hop standards) and both have fused jazz and hip hop through out their careers. There was definitely a mutual respect on the stage as Q-Tip freestyled with the band and Hargrove would follow up with a trumpet solo.
The audience was into every single selection. Hip hop heads, jazz enthusiasts, young people , old people, students, professionals; the audience was very diverse and very vocal in their appreciation for the show. At the end, Hargrove came back for an encore and brought Q-Tip back too. Tip decided to give skatting a try since one of Hargrove’s band members had just done that. Hargrove seemed genuinely taken aback by Q-Tip’s improvisation and grinned widely through the entire piece. The show ended with a second standing ovation.
It was a great show. I would love to see either performer again and I would be more than happy to visit the Gatehouse again.
loveisdope
December 4, 2007
Thank you for the support! We appreciate it.
-Demetria, Editor-In-Chief
Kandie Webster
December 4, 2007
I thank you immensely for this wonderfully written review. I will be directing Roy Hargrove fans who visit his AllAboutJazz profile page to this article.