We first heard Roy Hargrove's Crisol in 1998 with Habana, which won the Grammy that year for Best Latin Jazz Performance. Later that same year, they would return to a studio in Guadalupe to record the follow-up, Grand Terre (Big Land), which until now has not been heard. Released just days after what would have been his 55th birthday, Grande Terre features Roy's red-hot playing and superb compositions and arrangements for the all-star group of Cuban, American, and Guadeloupian musicians to work their worldly magic. Roy's influence on others, from Kamasi Washington to Robert Glasper to D'Angelo to Questlove, was a result of what he was able to cook up in the studio.
With Grande Terre, that inspiration will surely continue.