Jazz Articles about Fred Hopkins

like 207

Kahil El'Zabar: Love Outside Of Dreams

by Kurt Gottschalk
November 1, 2002

Despite more domestic releases in the last decade than ever before in his career, and a higher profile after playing with the likes of Hamiet Bluiett and DD Jackson, percussionist and composer Kahil El'Zabar remains one of the best kept secrets in the Midwest. There are a few possible (if superficial) reasons: the strong Africanism embraced by much of Chicago's AACM (where El'Zabar got his start) doesn't always play in New York; his simple repeated-and-inverted themes are, admittedly, an acquired ...

like 140

Kahil El'Zabar Trio: Love Outside Of Dreams

by Mark Corroto
September 1, 2002

African-American music (and African music for that matter) has always been about groove, movement, and that internal mechanism in your chest (perhaps your heart) that undulates and sways to the beat. In jazz, the rhythm catches you. If you explore further, melody and improvisation demands your surrender to this religion.For more than 25 years, percussionist Kahil El’Zabar has worked at the crossroads of jazz and African music providing the groove for AACM creations and his own Ritual and ...

like 165

Fred Hopkins/Diedre Murray Quartet: Prophecy

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 1999

In the late '80s, Fred Hopkins and Diedre Murray made an effective duo. Their unusual combination of bass and cello allowed for some interesting musical statements. Shortly thereafter they formed a quartet to expand this sound. The new members: Brandon Ross (guitar) and Newman Baker (drums). All four members played at one time or another in Henry Threadgill's groups. The stated idea behind the 1990 recording Prophecy emphasizes continuity and fluidity of musical thought.

Within a fairly straight-ahead setting, soloists ...

like 126

Fred Hopkins & Diedre Murray Quartet: Prophecy

by Glenn Astarita
November 1, 1999

Sadly, the inimitable bassist Fred Hopkins passed away on Thursday, January 7, 1999. Fred Hopkins was one of the busiest bassists in Chicago's creative music scene and often the bassist of choice for countless recording projects with dozens of performers too numerous to cite here. On the recently released Prophecy which was recorded in 1990 we get a glimpse of the much heralded Fred Hopkins/Diedre Murray Quartet. According to Ms. Murray, 'This was the first recording of a quartet that ...