Who’s Who In Today’s Jazz Scene

When talking about jazz greats the best players from 50 or 60 years ago always seem to come up in conversation. Legends of that era such as Miles Davis and Charlie Parker actually still sell more records than many of the great contemporary jazz musicians of today. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t some forward thinking and virtuosic players on the jazz scene today. There seems to be at least one person on each instrument today that is taking the music to new places while still keeping the music firmly rooted in the tradition set forth in the early 20th century.

One such visionary is Roy Hargrove. Hargrove has been a professional jazz trumpet player for over two decades. The musician hails from Dallas and moved to Boston at the age of 18 to attend Berklee College of Music. He only spent one year there before he was pulled to New York because of the potential to work more. Since then, Roy Hargrove has exploded on the jazz scene making great records in the traditional jazz combo formats as well as funky fusion records with his group RH Factor. If you are looking to find a great voice in the jazz community today Roy Hargrove is a great place to start.