The Love Suite: In Mahogany
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| The Love Suite: In Mahogany | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | October 13, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Venue | Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:43 | |||
| Label | Blue Engine BE 0049-1 | |||
| Producer | Willie Jones III | |||
| Roy Hargrove chronology | ||||
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The Love Suite: In Mahogany is a live album by trumpeter Roy Hargrove released by Blue Engine Records for music streaming platforms on October 13, 2023.[1][2][3] The suite, which was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center to a 23-year-old Hargrove who wrote it over the course of a couple days,[4] was first performed live by his quintet at Alice Tully Hall as part of the 1993 Jazz at Lincoln Center season; however, Hargrove would never perform the suite again in its entirety.[5][6]
The suite was later arranged for a big band outfit, with the Roy Hargrove Big Band performing it in October 2024 at Lincoln Center.[7][8]
Nate Chinen called the album "a flat-out marvel – maybe the most vivid example we have of Roy's ability to marshal hard-bop fire in a new form, steeped in swinging tradition but sparking and crackling right now".[9]
Craig L. Byrd of Cultural Attaché stated that "This live recording from 1993 is the only time Hargrove played The Love Suite: In Mahogany in its entirety. That alone makes this an essential album. Until you listen to it. Then you realize how truly incredible this work is."[10]
Glide Magazine's Jim Hynes wrote: "The suite is so well executed, that it is at times breathtaking, especially the last movement, which is a 'must-hear.' It's yet another reminder of why Hargrove remains so beloved and dearly missed."[11]
Phil Freeman of Stereogum commented: "it's lushly arranged, allowing the horns to sway around each other like trees in a breeze. ...with a rich and dramatic fanfare that moves into some almost Ellingtonian work from the whole ensemble, ...he really was an astonishing player, and this is a brilliant piece of music."[12]
Peter Watrous, reviewing for The New York Times, was more critical of the performance, noting that "he [Hargrove] lost control of the composition, letting a light melody go to waste on an overused Latin rhythm, a long ballad stretch out too long and a blues piece suffer through too much improvisation," although, "Hargrove even scatted, a brave thing to do in the hallowed halls of art; the audience gave him a standing ovation."[13]
The album was voted among the best Historical Albums of 2024 by DownBeat magazine.[14][15]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Roy Hargrove.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction" | 0:22 |
| 2. | "Young Daydreams (Beauteous Visions)" | 5:21 |
| 3. | "Obviously Destined" | 7:07 |
| 4. | "Stability" | 9:25 |
| 5. | "The Trial" | 3:17 |
| 6. | "Intro the Outcome" | 19:42 |
| 7. | "Outro and Band Introductions" | 3:29 |
| Total length: | 48:43 | |
- Recorded in 1993 at Alice Tully Hall as part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center season
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Everything I Have Is Yours" | ||
| 2. | "My Shining Hour" |