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Album Review

JC Hopkins Biggish Band: New York Moment

Read "New York Moment" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki

by Chris M. Slawecki
August 13, 2020

On New York Moment, pianist JC Hopkins and his twelve-piece Biggish Band tend to a flame that's been burning since prior to World War II, the sound of large dance bands (with and without vocalists) who moved audiences with both sophistication and swing. Hopkins' Moment rotates Vanisha-Arleen Gould, Joy Hanson, Nico Sarbanes (who also plays trumpet), Shawn Whitehorn and Alicyn Yaffee (guitar) as lead vocalists. The opening track leaves you genuinely “Beguiled" as vocalists Nico and Joy harmonize ...

Album Review

JC Hopkins Biggish Band: Meet Me At Minton's

Read "Meet Me At Minton's" reviewed by James Nadal

by James Nadal
June 17, 2017

In a direct shout out to the famous Harlem nightclub, and evoking the golden age of jazz orchestras, Meet Me At Minton's by the JC Hopkins Biggish Band is a polished throwback to the era when premier vocalists fronted illustrious big bands, while dancers flooded the floor. With a rotating lineup of eight singers, backed by fifteen musicians on the bandstand, pianist and leader JC Hopkins serves up a mixed bag of standards and original compositions, enhanced by stellar arrangements, ...

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Album Review

JC Hopkins Biggish Band: Underneath a Brooklyn Moon

Read "Underneath a Brooklyn Moon" reviewed by Mark F. Turner

by Mark F. Turner
August 9, 2005

Whether you call the locale uptown or downtown, pianist JC Hopkins and his “biggish band play it in fine New York City style on their debut, evoking the sounds of both smoky lounges and larger halls of yesteryear. The California-born Hopkins moved to New York and began this heartfelt project, which combines a larger jazz ensemble with stylish vocals by the ever-interesting voice of “soul diva Queen Esther. The biggish part comes in to play in the form of a ...