Elmo Hope

Elmo Hope - Hope-Full (1961) {Riverside OJCCD-1872-2 rel 1995}
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© 1961, 1995 Riverside / Fantasy | OJCCD-1872-2
Jazz / Bop / Piano

During the early years of the bop revolution, few of its younger pianists recorded unaccompanied solos. Even by 1961, solo albums by the bop musicians were considered a bit unusual, but Elmo Hope (an underrated composer and pianist) fares quite well during this Riverside set, which has been reissued on CD. Hope is joined by his wife Bertha on second piano during three of the eight numbers, most notably on a swinging "Blues Left and Right." Of the solo pieces, Elmo Hope is at his best on "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" and a cocktailish, but appealing, version of "Liza."

Bertha Hope was married to pianist Elmo Hope for just seven years prior to his death in 1967, but she only recorded a few piano duets with him until getting back into the studio in the early 1990s. On this session, she proves herself to a more than capable pianist, composer and arranger as she leads a strong quintet featuring trumpeter Eddie Henderson, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook (with Dave Riekenberg taking over on "Bellarosa"), bassist Walter Booker and drummer Leroy Williams. Her snappy "Bai Tai Blues" stands up against anything her late husband recorded during his career, while there is plenty of blowing space for Cook and Henderson. The lovely ballad tribute "For Duke and Cannon," composed by Sonny Fortune, is a subtle feature for Hope with Booker's tasty bass and Williams' crisp brushwork…

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.

Twenty of the jazz world's greatest piano players with 20 of their most influential albums. The spectrum ranges from Bill Evans or Duke Ellington via Ramsey Lewis or Ahmad Jamal to Red Garland or Tommy Flanagan, through to Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Horace Silver, or the debut album's of Herbie Hancock and Cecil Taylor, or the first recordings of Thelonious Monk.

John Coltrane - Side Steps (2009) {5CD Box Set, Prestige PRS-31345 rec 1956-1958}
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© 1956-58, 2009 Prestige / Concord | PRS-31345 | 24bit remaster
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

The artistic prowess of saxophonist John Coltrane was so expansive and influential - even in his own short lifetime, let alone in the decades since his death - that it's difficult to quantify or differentiate his significance as a leader, a collaborator, a sideman or any other role in the jazz idiom. What's certain, though, is that some of his most pivotal session work took place on the Prestige label in the 1950s.

The Curtis Counce Quintet - Exploring The Future (1958) {Boplicity CDBOP 007 rel 1996}
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© 1958, 1996 Dooto / Ace Records / Boplicity | CDBOP 007
Jazz / Hard Bop / West Coast Jazz / Bass

Although he lived for another five years after this session, this seems to be bassist Curtis Counce's last date as a leader. His quintet was in fine form playing originals by band member Elmo Hope and tenor saxophonist Harold Land, also playing standards like "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Angel Eyes" with convincing chops. Swedish trumpeter Rolf Ericson, who became better known to jazz fans while with Duke Ellington in the '60s, fits in beautifully with the cool-sounding hard bop style of this tight unit. Originally released on the long-defunct Dootone label, this highly sought-after record was finally reissued as a CD on the English label Boplicity in 1996.

Brian Marsella Trio - Outspoken: The Music of the Legendary Hasaan (2018) {Tzadik TZ 4026}
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© 2018 Tzadik | TZ 4026 | Tzadik Spectrum Series
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Jazz PIano Trio

This remarkable project features three Philadelphia musicians paying tribute to one of Philly’s most enigmatic and important musical visionaries—the Legendary Hasaan. Hasaan Ibn Ali was born in 1931 and made only one commercial release in his lifetime which has of course become a cult classic. Combining the craggly dissonances of Monk with the spidery lines of Elmo Hope,and the muscular intensity of Cecil Taylor, his music and theories were a huge influence on Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and countless others. Here Brian Marsella, Christian McBride and Anwar Marshall interpret the quirky compositions of this obscure musical master with a deep respect and a fresh imaginative voice. Included are an unrecorded Hasaan original and a tribute piece by Brian Marsella.

Harold Land - The Fox (1959) {Contemporary OJCCD-343-2 rel 1988}
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© 1959, 1988 Contemporary Records / Fantasy | OJCCD-343-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Due to his decision to settle in Los Angeles, tenor saxophonist Harold Land has long been underrated. A strong bop stylist who later on would be influenced a great deal by John Coltrane, Land in 1959 had a sound closer to Sonny Rollins. For this excellent straight-ahead quintet set with trumpeter Dupree Bolton and pianist Elmo Hope, Land performs four of Hope's superior but little-known compositions along with two of his own. This is high-quality hard bop, easily recommended to fans of straight-ahead jazz.

Brad Mehldau Trio's Seymour Reads the Constitution! is due May 18, 2018, on Nonesuch Records. The pianist and his longtime trio, which includes drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier, perform three Mehldau originals combined with interpretations of pop songs (Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson), jazz tunes (Elmo Hope, Sam Rivers), and one work from the American songbook (Frederick Loewe's "Almost Like Being in Love").