Claude Hopkins
A talented stride pianist, Claude Hopkins never became as famous as he deserved. He was a bandleader early on, and toured Europe in the mid-'20s as the musical director for Josephine Baker. Hopkins returned to the U.S. in 1926, led his own groups, and in 1930 took over Charlie Skeete's band. Between 1932-1935, he recorded steadily with his big band (all of the music has been reissued on three Classics CDs), which featured Jimmy Mundy arrangements and such fine soloists as trumpeter/vocalist Ovie Alston, trombonist Fernando Arbello, a young Edmond Hall on clarinet, and baritone and tenorman Bobby Sands, along with the popular high-note vocals of Orlando Roberson. The orchestra's recordings are a bit erratic, with more than their share of mistakes from the ensembles and a difficulty in integrating Hopkins' powerhouse piano with the full group, but they are generally quite enjoyable. Mundy's eccentric "Mush Mouth" is a classic, and Hopkins introduced his best-known original, "I Would Do Anything for You." Although they played regularly at Roseland (1931-1935) and the Cotton Club (1935-1936), and there were further sessions in 1937 and 1940, the Claude Hopkins big band never really caught on and ended up breaking up at the height of the swing era. Hopkins did lead a later, unrecorded big band (1944-1947), but mostly worked with small groups for the remainder of his career. He played with Red Allen's group during the second half of the 1950s, led his own band during 1960-1966, and in 1968 was in the Jazz Giants with Wild Bill Davison. Claude Hopkins led an obscure record for 20th Century Fox (1958) and three Swingville albums (1960-1963), but his best later work were solo stride dates for Chiaroscuro and Sackville (both in 1972), and a trio session for Black & Blue in 1974; it is surprising that his piano skills were not more extensively documented.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Essential Jazz Masters
Jazz - Erschienen bei Stardust Records am 01.11.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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I Would Do Anything For You
Pop - Erschienen bei Unique Musique am 01.11.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Everybody Shuffle
Jazz - Erschienen bei Squirrel Monkey Recordings am 04.08.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Three Little Words
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jazz League Music am 08.07.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yacht Club Swing
Jazz - Erschienen bei Jazz League Music am 07.06.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Three Little Words
Jazz - Erschienen bei Comfort Classics am 12.11.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mad Moments
Jazz - Erschienen bei Comfort Classics am 12.11.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Unstoppable Hopkins
Jazz - Erschienen bei Eco Sound am 01.12.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Take a Coffee Break
Jazz - Erschienen bei moreeguale am 29.05.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Let's Jam - Just For You
Jazz - Erschienen bei nagel heyer records am 24.11.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swingville Volume 9: Yes Indeed
Claude Hopkins, Buddy Tate, Emmett Berry
Jazz - Erschienen bei SINETONE AMR am 01.01.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swingville Volume 20: Let's Jam
Claude Hopkins, Buddy Tate, Joe Thomas
Jazz - Erschienen bei SINETONE AMR am 31.01.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swingville Volume 9: Yes Indeed
Claude Hopkins, Buddy Tate, Emmett Berry
Jazz - Erschienen bei Crazy Warthog Media am 01.01.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Big Bands, 1934-35 (Hq remastered)
Jazz - Erschienen bei Vintage Recordings am 02.11.2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo