Jun 13, 2022
Hargrove, a vérité style documentary chronicling the last year of legendary trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s life, will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 8PM at Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place (230 Vesey Street, NYC). Executive produced by Janine Sherman Barrois and Erykah Badu, Hargrove offers unprecedented access to Roy like never before through intimate and insightful interviews along with stunning live performances. A Q&A, moderated by music and culture critic Nelson George featuring first-time director Eliane Henri and musicians in the film, will immediately follow the June 12 screening.
Filmed in the jazz clubs of New York, Los Angeles and across Mediterranean Europe (Vienne, Perugia, Sète, Sorrento, and Marseille) on what would be his final tour, Hargrove shines a bright spotlight on the genius of Roy Hargrove and his enormous contributions to the art of jazz. Key conversations expand beyond Roy’s personal story and enter the terrain of what it means to be an artist, particularly in America. Hargrove dives into the significance of Black music in America while offering a glimpse into the politics of power and race in the music industry.
Scenes of conflict between Hargrove, Henri and Hargrove manager Larry Clothier add drama to the story, and serve as perhaps a warning for future African-American artists (Clothier, who controls Hargrove's music, would not allow Eliane to include any Hargrove compositions in the film). Elsewhere, Director Henri uses a deft touch to give the audience insight into Hargrove and performer, and finally as a complicated, talented man, facing his mortality.
Music icons Erykah Badu (a friend of Roy's since high school), Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride, Questlove, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Robert Glasper, and others pay tribute to Hargrove’s legacy as an acclaimed composer, improviser and friend in the film .
Podcast 909 is my conversation with Eliane Henri, as we discuss the bittersweet nature of the film, which was begun well before Roy's death, and only at its end becomes a meditation on life, death and art.
To enjoy Tribeca At Home: Hargrove as a Virtual Screening beginning Tuesday June 14, 2022 click here.