Elmo Hope Albums (12)
'Hope Meets Foster'
Release Date 11/26/1991
Tracks 6
Label Prestige/OJC
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What The Critics Say
This decent bop session features tenor-saxophonist Frank Foster and pianist Elmo Hope in a quintet with the forgotten trumpeter Freeman Lee (who is on three of the six songs), bassist John Ore and drummer Art Taylor. They perform three of Hope's originals, two by Foster and an uptempo version of "Georgia on My Mind." None of the originals caught on (when was the last time anyone played "Fosterity"?) and nothing that innovative occurs but the music should please bop fans. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
'Meditations'
Release Date 7/1/1991
Tracks 11
Label Original Jazz Classics
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What The Critics Say
Although Elmo Hope was one of the more interesting jazz composers of the 1950s, the emphasis on his trio set with bassist John Ore and drummer Willie Jones is on Hope's piano playing. Influenced greatly by Bud Powell (his contemporary), Hope performs standards (such as "All the Things You Are" and "Falling in Love with Love") along with some originals, most of which are based on the chord changes of earlier songs. Fans of bop piano and Bud Powell will want this enjoyable CD reissue. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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. The remainder of the session impresses with a series of rhythmically rich Hope compositions which, like the majority of Monk's tunes, stay memorable in spite of their complexity. Three more Hope tunes from a West Coast date round out the quintet tracks and close the CD. Land contributes strong tenor work while bassist Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Frank Butler do a fine job keeping things anchored. This Blue Note release is great not only for its cross-section of Hope compositions, but also for the many fertile ideas they've inspired in top-drawer soloists. ~ Stephen Cook, All Music Guide
'Sounds from Rikers Island'
Release Date 1/1/1963
Tracks 9
Label Audio Fidelity
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What The Critics Say
Kudos to Spain's Fresh Sound label for digging this one out of its undeserved obscurity. This 1963 session assembled by composer Sid Frey, pianist and composer Elmo Hope, and vibist Walt Dickerson (who doesn't appear on the record) is a blowing date centered around the notion of drug addiction and hopelessness for the addict/slave musician who ends up in places like Rikers Island. As a cultural and social critique, it fails other than in its liner notes. As a musical document, it is an overwhelming success. Hope surrounds himself with musicians whose reputations are now legendary: Philly Joe Jones, John Gilmore, Ronnie Boykins, Lawrence Jackson, and Freddie Douglas. Hope and Frey composed six of the set's nine selections, ranging from the breezy hard bop of "Ode for Joe," which allowed Jones the ability to drive the band from outside the arrangement, to the lushly romantic "Monique" and the waltz-as-turnstile blues of "Kevin." "Trippin'" is a blues that slips through harmonic changes quickly and seamlessly with startling stop-and-start cadences. The high points of the session are "A Night in Tunisia," a stretch-out for everyone, and the amazing rendition of "Groovin' High" that closes the album, featuring Marcelle Daniels on scatted vocals. Veteran Earl Coleman also appears as a singer on the Ellington tune "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dream," but even in these two tracks, the level of musical empathy and improvisational reciprocity is inspiring. This is an obscure date but it shouldn't be, as it features some of Hope and Gilmore's finest playing, and shows Jones in rare, lighthearted form. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The boppish and fairly original Elmo Hope performs seven of his obscure originals, many of which are well worth reviving, plus "Like Someone In Love" in a trio with bassist Jimmy Bond and drummer Frank Butler. Bop and straight-ahead jazz fans wanting to hear a talented pianist play fresh tunes should explore Elmo Hope's valuable music. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Homecoming! is a particularly high-spirited record for this stage in Hope's troubled career. Following an extended stay in Los Angeles, a number of the day's top players helped welcome a refreshed Hope back to New York on this session. Tenor saxophonists Frank Foster and Jimmy Heath, as well as trumpeter Blue Mitchell, form the front line on the sextet numbers, while on all tracks Hope is joined by the rhythm section of Percy Heath and Philly Joe Jones. Four of the album's (original) seven tracks are sextet performances and the two alternate takes only appear on the Fantasy Original Jazz Classics CD reissue. The Dameron-esque bop numbers sizzle and weave and the tenor work of Frank Foster is especially rewarding on the album's bouncing opener, "Moe, Jr.," take four on the CD. The three ballads are equally fresh and less doom-ridden than comparable performances found elsewhere in his catalog. Expect fine performances by all. This great hard bop record is highly recommended. ~ Brandon Burke, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
This excellent but little-known effort was originally put out by the quickly obsolete Beacon label. The talented pianist Elmo Hope performs six of his originals, including "Mo's Bluff" and "Crazy," in trios with either Paul Chambers or Butch Warren on bass and Philly Joe Jones or Granville Hogan on drums. Since there is just barely 26 minutes of music and this V.S.O.P. reissue has not yet resurfaced on CD, it is not an essential release, but the music is quite worthwhile and enjoyable. In fact, Elmo Hope's relatively slim discography makes all of his recordings quite valuable due to his talent. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Prestige label turned out records like this at the rate they roast ducks in Chinatown, and there are plenty of happy souls who can't get enough of either. If this particular session hasn't assumed the legend of a jazz classic, it's because, on the whole, some little spark seems to be missing. If this element could be defined easily, and put into words quickly and efficiently, then record producers and musicians would know exactly how to create the perfect jam session record. The people involved in this record know much more about such a science then the average musician and record producer. These are musicians very far down the road from being average, all of this underscoring the difficulty of creating a spontaneous recording session at which moments of improvisational genius are expected to pop up. While the album's title is another example of how cleverly labels such as this can describe what they are selling, there are really many aspects of these proceedings that are hardly informal at all. Describing these in the order in the importance, the obvious place to start is the drum and bass team of Philly Joe Jones and Paul Chambers. The playing of these gentlemen here is worth the price of the record alone, even if the copy is secured from a tightwad used-record store owner somewhere in the Ozarks who only opens the doors of his establishment for gold credit card owners. This is hardly the kind of rhythm section playing heard at a jam session, except possibly in heaven. Elmo Hope mans the piano bench at the helm of this dream team, and while the liner notes call him the "nominal leader" for the blowing date, he earns actual leader status by accomplishing two things. First, his solo spots are the best part of the record, especially the part of "Weeja" where even Jones drops back, eventually adding some strange filigree. At this point the rhythm section seems to be making a statement about having gone through the rigmarole of backing all the previous horn solos in an exercise that is supposed to produce great moments of jazz, but maybe didn't. They play as if in relief, as if happy it is up to them for a change. What happens is truly memorable, but it sounds more like professional musicians who have worked together many times hitting a genius moment, not a jam session. Second, Hope provides original material that helps give the record its personality. It is typical to pass off the tunes at sessions such as this as just simple contrivances to launch soloists, but again it is a stretch to imagine an "informal" recording session where even material as complicated as this is played. Both of the standards have arrangements that would leave jazz students, and some of their teachers, tying their shoes on the bridge. Hope's "Weeja" has a simple fanfare of a theme, sure, but it is arranged within a nifty series of short blowing spots. This is where the merry listener gets the treat of hearing Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, and John Coltrane introduce themselves instrumentally, the latter tenor giant making a great ride of the bridge. Everything is tight, together, and without a hitch. Squeaking mouthpieces from Mobley and Coltrane are the only casual aspects. These tenor titans are promoted as being involved in reviving the instrumental battle popularized by Gene Ammons and others here, but a real duel would require some kind of interaction between the participants. Mobley and Coltrane really don't seem to be paying much attention to each other, pursuing their own agendas. Mobley has the whisk broom and the fluff brush, enjoying an effortlessly fluid tone with a sound a bit like Warne Marsh at times. Coltrane continually blasts ringing melodic variations on various hard bop licks, each of them worthy of being chiseled into marble. The trumpeter's acrobatics are familiar, pole-vaulting through the changes, running the 440 through the bridge, then a standing broad jump in the trades with Jones. Can anyone else play like Byrd? It hasn't happened yet. The overall best performance is probably "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" -- since it is the one slow tune of the bunch, it gets the most special treatment. Shorn of nothing but moments of sheer brilliance, a shorter and better version of this album would feature only the piano solos and the parts where everyone trades fours with the drummer. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
'Elmo Hope Quintet (New Faces-New Sounds, Vol. 2)'
Release Date 1/1/1954
Tracks 6
Label Blue Note
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