The title track of Roy Hargrove's 1990 debut album Public Eye on Novus/RCA announces the arrival of one of the most gifted trumpeters of his generation. Hargrove's original composition is a minor blues in C taken at a blazing up-tempo pace, its hard-swinging character reflecting the neo-bop aesthetic that defined the young lions movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hargrove leads the solo section with six commanding choruses of trumpet, his bright, cutting tone and fearless approach to fast tempos immediately distinguishing him from his peers. Antonio Hart follows with five choruses of alto saxophone, his fluid lines and rhythmic vitality demonstrating the close musical bond between the two horn players. Stephen Scott contributes six choruses of piano, his assured playing adding harmonic depth. Christian McBride delivers three choruses of acoustic bass, remarkable for a player who was barely out of his teens at the time. Billy Higgins closes with three choruses of drums, the veteran's presence lending the date a weight and authority that helped ground the young musicians. Recorded when Hargrove was just nineteen, the album was produced by Larry Clothier and benefited from the mentorship Hargrove had received from Wynton Marsalis, who had discovered the young Texan while visiting a Dallas arts high school.
