Approaching Standards is a compilation album by trumpeter Roy Hargrove, with tracks taken from four sessions between December 1989 to February 1993, released on the Novus/RCA/BMG labels in 1994.
Reception Don Cross of AllMusic described the album as "A poorly put-together compilation" and that "Approaching Standards serves only to illuminate Hargrove's failure to understand ballad material on his earlier recordings. Ballads dominate the album, accounting for seven of the album's ten tracks; Hargrove generally interprets them in a cool, emotionally detached manner which can be quite off-putting." However, Cross noted that the album "somewhat more encouragingly also documents Hargrove's growth as a musician" with Everything I Have Is Yours / Dedicated to You'... find[ing] Hargrove in a more mature frame of mind, and point[ing] toward the much better albums he would soon make."
Track listing
Tracks 1–3 first appeared on Diamond in the Rough (Novus/RCA, recorded December 1989) Tracks 4–7 first appeared on Public Eye (Novus/RCA, recorded October 1990) Track 8 first appeared on The Vibe (Novus/RCA; unknown recording date, released April 8, 1992) Tracks 9 & 10 first appeared on Of Kindred Souls (Novus/RCA; various unknown recording dates, released April 23, 1993)
Personnel Musicians
Roy Hargrove – trumpet, flugelhorn Antonio Hart – alto saxophone (4–8) Ron Blake – tenor and soprano saxophones (9, 10) Frank Lacy – trombone (8) John Hicks (1–3), Stephen Scott (4–7), Marc Cary (8–10) – piano Scott Colley (1–3), Christian McBride (4–7), Rodney Whitaker (8–10) – double bass Al Foster (1–3), Billy Higgins (4–7), Gregory Hutchinson (8–10) – drums Roy Hargrove Quintet – ensemble (9, 10)
Technical
Larry Clothier – producer
Jacqueline Murphy – art direction Amy Wenzler – design Ruedi Hofmann – photography
References