Album Notes

This DVD/CD Set of the Historic Jazz Play It's a Hardbop Life, which debuted at the 2004 New York JVC Jazz Festival, was written by one of the most talented trombonists in the world today, Gregory Charles Royal. Called "One of the Important Guys on the Instrument" by Slide Hampton, Royal has created a "new" vehicle for live jazz performance and expression- the theatre. His play, the first to feature actual top jazz musicans as the main cast, lets the audience hear and see up close and personal the musicians in a very private way, while also entertaining and educating those that may not have been exposed to jazz. Musically, the play features an era of jazz most often ignored by traditional plays and musicals which feature 30's and 40's jazz- 1960's Hardbop. This soulful swinging jazz is the backdrop for the plot which attempts in part to stress the importance of Jazz's Black roots and intrisic sound. For more information about the play visit www.hardboplife.com

Gregory Charles Royal has been a part of many legendary groups over the years, including Slide Hampton's World of Trombones, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, and onstage in the Broadway hit, Five Guys Named Moe. As a teenager, Royal was also the protetge of legendary drummer Art Blakey who brought him to New York to live with him in his 45th Street apartment. It was his relationship with Blakey and his teacher, trombonist Curtis Fuller, that shaped the concept for the music in It's a Hardbop Life- the funky brand of jazz made famous by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

Gregory Charles Royal has many interests including football (he played at the semi-professional level as a wide receiver and kick returner)and track and field. He hold's a Master degree in Jazz Studies from Howard University and is listed in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (Leonard Feather, Oxford University Press 1999).