2008 · Album
Family
Recorded 2007 · Mack Avenue Records · Produced by Roy Hargrove and Don Was
When Hargrove Brings Everyone Home
Family shows Hargrove at ease, making room for voices that matter to him.
Family is Roy Hargrove doing something he does better than most: creating space for people he cares about. This isn't a showcase where the bandleader dominates—it's genuinely collaborative, which can feel unusual in a genre where the soloist often takes center stage. Hargrove stays present but doesn't hog the spotlight. The album has a warmth to it, a kind of informal gathering quality that comes across in how relaxed everything sounds.
The record sits comfortably in Hargrove's catalog without being a radical departure. By this point in his career, he'd already proven himself as both a straightforward hard-bop player and someone willing to explore different textures and contexts. Family doesn't reinvent anything—it just executes well on what Hargrove does naturally: play with clarity and taste, and make his collaborators sound good. The tunes breathe. There's space between things. It's the opposite of crowded, even when the band is full.
This is worth hearing if you already know Hargrove's work and want to see him in a less demanding, more communal setting. It's not the album to start with if you're just discovering him—begin with his earlier hard-bop sessions for a cleaner entry point. But if you're into his sound and curious about who he wanted in the room with him, Family delivers exactly what the title promises: something intimate and familiar, without pretense.
Who's playing
Rodney Whitakerbass
Walter Bookerbass
Stephen Scottpiano
Ronnie Mathewspiano
Ron Blaketenor saxophone
David “Fathead” Newmantenor saxophone
Roy Hargrovetrumpet
Gregory Hutchinsondrums
Jimmy Cobbdrums
