Parker's Mood (album)
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Foothill Digital, NYC (mastering)
| Parker's Mood | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Recorded | April 12–14, 1995 | |||
| Studio | Effanel Music Studio, NYC Foothill Digital, NYC (mastering) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 64:26 | |||
| Label | Verve 314 527 907-2 | |||
| Producer |
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| Roy Hargrove chronology | ||||
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| Christian McBride chronology | ||||
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| Stephen Scott chronology | ||||
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Parker's Mood is a studio album by trumpeter Roy Hargrove, bassist Christian McBride, and pianist Stephen Scott, recorded on April 12–14, 1995, and released the same year by Verve Records.[1][2] The album was produced in memoriam of saxophonist Charlie Parker, who either wrote or was known for performing all of the songs on the album, recorded on his 75th anniversary year.[3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |  [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Rick Anderson of AllMusic wrote: "These three musicians, all of whom are part of the back-to-bop youth movement and all of whom have made names for themselves as session players and fledgling bandleaders, approach the tunes with a combination of reverence and iconoclastic innovation", continuing that "This approach has its limitations, of course; as revealing as Hargrove's solo take on 'Dewey Square' is, sometimes the weight of rhythmic responsibility weighs too heavily on McBride's shoulders during the trio numbers, and the groove suffers."[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings stated that the album is "a delightful meeting of three young masters, improvising on 16 themes from Bird's repertoire" with "Hargrove's luminous treatment of 'Laura' again suggests he may be turning into one of the music's pre-eminent ballad players, but its the inventive interplay between the three men that takes the session to its high level."[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide described the album as "about as focused as you can get, showing how a decade of seasoning has matured and centered these musicians", adding that "All three players handle Parker's rocky terrain with fleet agility, Hargrove assaying Bird's lines on his horn as if they were made for trumpet" and "The antithesis of everything that precedes it, this collection of jazz masterpieces by a jazz master represents the apex of Hargrove's output."[4]