July 12, 2022 – Welcome to Another Groove, our series dedicated to new music which is neither pure soul nor R&B but which has elements of those genres and may please your ears.
This week we feature the track “A Whole New World” by The Jazz Networks featuring Roy Hargrove.
A relatively unheralded but vital chapter in the late Roy Hargrove’s career was his leadership of The Jazz Networks, a rotating ensemble of American and Japanese musicians who released five albums for Sony/BMG/Novus during the period 1992-1996 as a side project to Hargrove’s better-known solo and quintet recordings. Most of The Jazz Networks’ albums were not originally released in the U.S., but since Hargrove’s death in 2018 his estate has been working with the label to make them available for the first time on the major U.S. streaming and downloading platforms. All of the albums feature Hargrove’s signature warmth and dexterity on trumpet and flugelhorn over a well-chosen assortment of tunes drawn primarily from the Great American Songbook.
Earlier this month, Sony Japan re-issued The Jazz Networks’ 1995 album In The Movies, which is a collection of beloved movie theme songs. We feature here the band’s cover of “Whole New World” from the movie Aladdin, an earlier version of which was recorded by SoulTracks’ favorites Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Hargrove’s arrangement of the song teases out its soul and underscores the beauty of its melody. Enjoy.
By Robb Patryk
