ROY HARGROVE BIG BAND
MONTHLY RESIDENCY

The Jazz Gallery was founded in 1995 by Dale Fitzgerald, vocalist Lezlie Harrison, and renowned jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove who envisioned a hub and home for the jazz musicians and composers from around the world who come to New York to take part and enhance the city’s vibrant cultural scene.

The original space that The Jazz Gallery occupied at 290 Hudson Street in Soho was the place where Roy could rehearse with his big band, and where exhibitions curated by Dale with music in mind, were hung.

The band toured domestically and internationally and played everywhere from the Blue Note Tokyo to the Hollywood Bowl. Roy conducted the big band while also playing trumpet and flugelhorn and lending his vocal, most famously, on the fan favorite "September in the Rain". The arrangements comprised of Roy's original compositions, standards, and new music by band members and other contemporaries whom he respected. The Roy Hargrove Big Band released one album, Emergence, under Roy’s leadership in 2009.

Roy Hargrove Legacy LLC, the company founded by Roy’s wife Aida Brandes-Hargrove, and daughter Kamala, has re-launched The Roy Hargrove Big Band to honor Roy’s legacy and the big band sound that he loved. Performances feature musicians who played with Roy in the big band and in his other ensembles. Ms. Brandes-Hargrove is the band’s Executive Director, and Mr. Bruce Williams, lead alto and big band member from 1997 until Mr. Hargrove’s death in 2018, is Music Director. Mr. Jason Marshall, baritone saxophonist and also long-time member of the big band, serves as Assistant Music Director.

The ensemble embarked upon a monthly residency at The Jazz Gallery, in the Flatiron District of Manhattan beginning March 10th, 2022 and has been filling the room with their joyous expression ever since.

Catch the RHBB at The Jazz Gallery
- where it all began, and Where The Future Is Present!

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