The RH Factor was a collective of jazz, funk, soul, and rap artists formed around trumpeter and leader Roy Hargrove (born October 16, 1969, in Waco, Texas). Roy Hargrove was a highly regarded musician known for his fluid and meticulous style. He played with many other top jazz artists and led his own aggregations including quartets, quintets, big bands, an Afro-Cuban group called Crisol and a funk band he named the RH Factor. The RH Factor was inspired by the myriad of artists that Roy Hargrove had been working with - from jazz legends Shirley Horn and Jimmy Smith to soul/R&B/hip-hop artists such as Common, Erykah Badu, and D’Angelo. Roy Hargrove formed the RH Factor in order to create modern funk music using a collective of musicians including Pino Palladino (bass), Keith Anderson (alto saxophone), Bernard Wright (keyboards), Willie Jones III (drums), Bobby Sparks (electric piano), Daniel Moreno (percussion), and many others. The group’s first album, Hard Groove, was released in 2003. The album was a change of pace and attracted a new audience to Roy Hargrove’s talents. The RH Factor returned in 2004 with the Strength EP which featured a smaller and more focused line-up. In 2006, the group returned with the albums Distractions, which included a new line-up featuring former Zhané vocalist/keyboardist Renée Neufville and saxophonist David ‘Fathead’ Newman. Although the RH Factor did not release another full album, Roy Hargrove took the musical spirt of the band and applied it to his later recordings. Roy Hargrove died of cardiac arrest on November 2, 2018, at the age of 49.
