Hargrove was the bandleader of the progressive group The RH Factor, which combined elements of jazz, funk, hip-hop, soul, and gospel music. Its members have included Chalmers "Spanky" Alford, Pino Palladino, James Poyser, Jonathan Batiste and Bernard Wright.
Born in Waco, Texas, he took lessons on trumpet and was discovered by Wynton Marsalis when Marsalis visited the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas. One of his influences was saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman, who performed in Ray Charles's Band at Hargrove's junior high school.
Hargrove spent one year (1988–1989) studying at Boston's Berklee College of Music but could more often be found in New York City jam sessions. He transferred to the New School in New York. His first recording there was with the saxophonist Bobby Watson. Shortly afterwards he made a recording with Superblue featuring Watson, Mulgrew Miller, and Kenny Washington. In 1990 he released his first solo album, Diamond in the Rough, on the Novus/RCA label. He was commissioned by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and wrote The Love Suite: In Mahogany which premiered in 1993.
In 1994, now contracted to Verve, he recorded With the Tenors of Our Time, with Joe Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Johnny Griffin, Joshua Redman, and Branford Marsalis. He recorded Family in 1995, then experimented with a trio format on the album Parker's Mood in 1995, with bassist Christian McBride and pianist Stephen Scott.
Hargrove won his first Grammy Award in 1998 for the album Habana with Crisol, the Afro-Cuban band he founded. He won a Grammy Award in 2002 for Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall with co-leaders Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker.
In 2000, Hargrove used a jazz sound with a lot of groove and funk, performing and recording with neo soul singer D'Angelo, resulting in Voodoo. Hargrove also performed the music of Louis Armstrong in Roz Nixon's musical production "Dedicated To Louis Armstrong" as part of the Verizon Jazz Festival. In 2002, he collaborated with D'Angelo and Macy Gray, the Soultronics, and Nile Rodgers, on two tracks for Red Hot & Riot, a compilation album in tribute to the music of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. He acted as sideman for jazz pianist Shirley Horn and rapper Common on the album Like Water for Chocolate and in 2002 with singer Erykah Badu on Worldwide Underground.
Hargrove passed away on November 2, 2018.
Discography
As leader
1990: Diamond in the Rough (Novus)
1991: Public Eye (Novus)
1992: Tokyo Sessions, Roy Hargrove and Antonio Hart (Novus)
1992: The Vibe (Novus)
1993: Jazz Futures: Live in Concert (Novus)
1993: Of Kindred Souls: The Roy Hargrove Quintet Live (Novus)
1993: Beauty and the Beast – The Jazz Networks (Novus)
1994: Blues 'n Ballads – The Jazz Networks (Novus)
1994: Approaching Standards – compilation of tracks from 4 albums (BMG Music/Jazz Heritage 1995)
1994: With the Tenors of Our Time – The Roy Hargrove Quintet (Verve)
1995: Family (Verve)
1995: Parker's Mood – with Christian McBride (bass), and Stephen Scott (piano) (Verve)
1997: Habana – Roy Hargrove's Crisol (Verve), Latin Jazz Grammy Winner
2000: Moment to Moment – Roy Hargrove with Strings (Verve)
2002: Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall – co-led by Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker (Verve), Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group 2003
2003: Hard Groove – The RH Factor (Verve)
2004: Strength – The RH Factor (EP, Verve)
2006: Distractions – The RH Factor (Verve)
2006: Nothing Serious (Verve)
2008: Earfood – The Roy Hargrove Quintet (EmArcy)
2009: Emergence – The Roy Hargrove Big Band (Groovin' High)
As sideman
1988: Bobby Watson & Horizon – No question about it
1988: Superblue – Superblue (Blue Note)[2]
1989 Manhattan Projects – Dreamboat
1989: Carl Allen & Manhattan Projects – Piccadilly Square
1989: Ricky Ford – Hard Groovin' (Muse)
1990: Ralph Moore – Furthermore
1991 Antonio Hart – For the First Time
1991: Charles Fambrough – The Proper Angle
1991: Jazz futures – Live in concert (Novus)
1991: Sonny Rollins – Here's to the People (Milestone), on "I Wish I Knew" and "Young Roy" only
1992: Jackie McLean – Rhythm of the Earth
1992: Jazz Networks – Beauty And The Beast (BMG)
1992: Danny Gatton, Joshua Redman, Bobby Watson, Franck Amsallem, Charles Fambrough, Yuron Israel – New York Stories (Blue Note)
1993: Bob Thiele Collective – Lion Hearted
1993: Steve Coleman – The Tao of Mad Phat (Novus)
1993: Jazz Networks – Blues 'N Ballads (BMG)
1994: David Sanchez – Sketches of Dreams
1994: Johnny Griffin – Chicago-New york-Paris
1994: Marc Cary – Cary On
1994: Rodney Kendrick – The Secrets of Rodney Kendrick
1995: Shirley Horn – The Main Ingredient (Verve)
1995: Christian McBride – Gettin' to It
1995: Jimmy Smith – Damn!
1996: Jimmy Smith – Angel Eyes: Ballads & Slow Jams
1996: Cedar Walton – Composer (Astor Place]])
1996: Oscar Peterson – Meets Roy Hargrove and Ralph Moore (Telarc), with Ralph Moore, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Lewis Nash
2000: Ray Brown Trio – Some of My Best Friends Are... The Trumpet Players (Telarc)
2000: Erykah Badu – Mama's Gun
2000: D'Angelo – Voodoo
2000: Common – Like Water for Chocolate
2001: Roy Haynes – Birds of a Feather: A Tribute to Charlie Parker
2003: Erykah Badu – Worldwide Underground
2003: Shirley Horn – May the Music Never End (Verve)
2006: Anke Helfrich – Better Times Ahead
2006: John Mayer – Continuum
2006: Steve Davis – Update
2007: Jimmy Cobb Quartet – Cobb's Corner
2007: Randal Corsen – Armonia
2008: John Beasley – Letter to Herbie
2008: Johnny Griffin – Live At Ronnie Scott's
2008: Roy Assaf & Eddy Khaimovich Quartet – Andarta (Origin)
2009: Jimmy Cobb Quartet – Jazz in the Key of Blue, with Russell Malone (guitar) and John Webber (bass)
2010: Marcus Miller with L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo – A Night in Monte Carlo (Dreyfus/Concord Jazz), with Raul Midón
2010: Angelique Kidjo – Õÿö, on "Samba pa ti" only
2011: Cyrille Aimée – Cyrille Aimée & Friends (Live at Smalls)
2011: Roy Haynes – Roy-Alty
2011: Stan Killian – Unified
2014: D'Angelo – Black Messiah
2015: Ameen Saleem – The Grove Lab
2017: Johnny O'Neal – In The Moment
Once In A While
Roy Hargrove Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One little thought to me
Though someone else may be
Nearer your heart?
Once in a while will you dream
Of the moments I shared with you
Moments before we two
In love's smoldering ember
One spark may remain
If love still can remember
That spark may burn again
I know that I'll be contented
With yesterday's memory
Knowing you think of me
Once in a while
In love's smoldering ember
One spark may remain
If love still can remember
The spark may burn again
I know that I'll be contented
With yesterday's memory
Knowing you think of me
Once in a while
The song Once In A While by Roy Hargrove is a mournful ballad about a love gone wrong. The lyrics are addressed to someone who has moved on from the relationship while the singer still holds onto hope that they might be thought of once in a while. The opening lines invite the listener to try and give one little thought to the singer, even if they are with someone else who is closer to their heart. The refrain emphasizes the title phrase, indicating that the singer would be contented with only occasional thoughts from their former love.
The second verse draws attention to shared moments between the singer and their beloved before their relationship became strained. The imagery of drifting apart implies that their separation was not sudden but a gradual process. The idea of love's smoldering ember suggests that the flame has not entirely gone out, and there is potential for it to reignite. The singer acknowledges that their memory of the past will be enough to sustain them, and they find comfort in imagining that they are still part of their former lover's occasional musings.
Overall, the lyrics of Once In A While convey a sense of longing and resignation, emphasizing the theme of lost love. The song is a beautifully crafted example of a classic jazz ballad, featuring Hargrove's soulful trumpet playing and a lush orchestration that suits the melancholic mood.
Line by Line Meaning
Once in a while will you try to give
Could you spare a little thought or affection for me from time to time
One little thought to me
A minimal or trivial level of attention would suffice, just to show that you care
Though someone else may be
Even if someone else is closer or more important to you
Nearer your heart?
More beloved or favored in your heart
Once in a while will you dream
Do you ever imagine or dream of the moments we shared together
Of the moments I shared with you
Thoughts and memories of the time we spent together
Moments before we two
Moments from our past, before we went our separate ways
Drifted apart?
Moved away from each other, figuratively or literally
In love's smoldering ember
In the remaining bits of love, still burning within us
One spark may remain
Perhaps a small spark remains, hinting at the passion we once shared
If love still can remember
If the love we felt for each other still lingers, even faintly
That spark may burn again
There is a chance our love could rekindle, given the right circumstances
I know that I'll be contented
I am at peace with the memory of our past connection
With yesterday's memory
I find comfort in the recollection of our shared history
Knowing you think of me
It would be reassuring to know that I still cross your mind from time to time
Once in a while
Every now and then
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BUD GREEN, MICHAEL EDWARDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind