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 - Released by Stardust Records on Nov. 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Would Do Anything For You
Pop - Released by Unique Musique on Nov. 1, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Three Little Words
Jazz - Released by Jazz League Music on Jul. 8, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yacht Club Swing
Jazz - Released by Jazz League Music on Jun. 7, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Take a Coffee Break
Jazz - Released by moreeguale on May 29, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Let's Jam - Just For You
Jazz - Released by nagel heyer records on Nov. 24, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swingville Volume 9: Yes Indeed
Claude Hopkins, Buddy Tate, Emmett Berry
Jazz - Released by SINETONE AMR on Jan. 1, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Swingville Volume 20: Let's Jam
Claude Hopkins, Buddy Tate, Joe Thomas
Jazz - Released by SINETONE AMR on Jan. 31, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Big Bands, 1934-35 (Hq remastered)
Jazz - Released by Vintage Recordings on Nov. 2, 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
It Don't Mean a Thing / Is It So (All Tracks Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Hit Singles Records on Nov. 8, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
1937-1940 (HD Remastered)
Vocal Jazz - Released by Reborn recordings on Jun. 13, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yes, Indeed / Empty Bed Blues (All Tracks Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Hit Singles Records on May 27, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo