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]
Reception
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]
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