Elmo Hope Sextet And Trio Homecoming! (1961) [remastered 1992]

Elmo Hope Trio is an album by jazz pianist Elmo Hope recorded in 1959 and originally released on the Hifijazz label but rereleased on Contemporary Records.

This recording has a less-than-stellar reputation, principally because it was done so late in McTell's career, and it is true that he lacks some of the edge, especially in his singing, that he showed on his other postwar recordings. On the other hand, his 12-string playing is about as nimble as ever and a real treat. McTell cut these sides for record store owner Ed Rhodes, who had begun taping local bluesmen at his shop in Atlanta in the hope of releasing some of it – McTell took to the idea of recording only slowly, then turned up one night and played for the microphone and anyone who happened to be listening, finishing a pint of bourbon in the process – the result was a pricelessly intimate document, some of the words slurred here and there, but brilliantly expressive and stunningly played.

Of the collections of Elmo Hope's '50s recordings, Trio and Quintet is the one to get. It includes his prime Blue Note sessions and features a stellar cast of hard bop musicians including Art Blakey, Frank Foster, Philly Joe Jones, and Harold Land. The majority of the tunes are Hope originals which, in their angular introspection, bear the influence of both Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk. Things begin with ten mostly hard bop swingers from a trio date in 1953. Prominently featured is Hope's Powell like, single line attack. Solos stay brisk and straightforward on uptempo numbers like "Hot Sauce," but turn a bit mercurial on slower pieces like "Happy Hour." Standout tracks include Hope's "Mo Is On" with its "off to the races" opening statement and "Carvin' the Rock," which falls somewhere between Powell's "Parisian Thoroughfare" and "So Sorry Please." Percy Heath and Philly Joe Jones provide sympathetic support throughout. The Quintet tracks start with an East Coast session featuring Foster and Blakey. The opening number is the convoluted, yet hard swinging original "Crazy"; it causes some problems for trumpeter Freeman Lee, but finds Foster in command with a vigorous solo statement.

Harold Land’s hard bop album “The Fox” was originally released in 1960, with Contemporary Records reissuing it in ‘69. Featuring Harold Land (tenor sax), Dupree Bolton (trumpet), Elmo Hope (piano), Herbie Lewis (bass), Frank Butler (drums) it was produced by David Axelrod. This new edition features remastered hi-res audio from the original tapes.

The highly original works of composer/pianist Elmo Hope included in this collection are certainly a landmark in his career and a source of unalloyed joy to his many admirers. Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, two of the most exciting jazz musicians, are the remaining two-thirds of this extraordinary trio. Within the dazzling framework of Hopes vivid compositions, they form an aggregation with a strikingly individual style.