A superb swing and classic pianist (he held his own with Dick Hyman on a duo piano album), Chris Hopkins is based in Germany where he records for his Echoes Of Swing Productions. He has been on records since 1994 including with (among others) the Swedish Jazz Kings (featuring cornetist Bent Persson), clarinetist Engelbert Wrobel’s Swing Society, Dan Barrett, Bob Barnard, and his own Echoes Of Swing quartet which features him on alto.
Chris Hopkins Meets The Young Lions – Live Vol. 1 has Hopkins on piano leading a quintet also featuring trumpeter Thimo Niesterok, guitarist-vocalist Tijn Trommelen, bassist Caris Hermes, and drummer Mathieu Clement. The lack of liner notes is unfortunate since I have not heard of any of the sidemen before who I assume are a lot younger than Hopkins. However one does need written commentary to know immediately that this is a talented bunch.
Trumpeter Niesterok in particular is a very good soloist with an attractive sound who also contributes a solid lead. He is well featured, competing with Hopkins for solo honors while the rhythm section is solid and supportive. Among the highlights are such numbers as “Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams,” “Indiana,” “The Best Things In Life Are Free,” and “My Baby Just Cares For Me.”
Chris Hopkins recordings are always pretty rewarding and this one has the extra bonus of introducing listeners to some new talents.
Chris Hopkins Meets The Young Lions – Live Vol. 1
Echoes Of Swing Productions 4514
www.hopkinsjazz.com/shop
Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings.
Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.
