Celebrate Queen Esther with the JC Hopkins Biggish Band this Thursday night at the world-famous Slipper Room!. Special guest vocalist Syd Straw will sit in on a couple of numbers http://www.sydstraw.com/sydstraw/
*THIS WEEK* Thursday, June 30th The Slipper Room, NYC (10pm - 1am) 167 Orchard St, @ Stanton (212) 253-7246 Special Price! / $5 http://www.slipperroom.com
The NY Press says this:
JC Hopkins Biggish Band
There's definitely a retro feel about bandleader, pianist and songwriter JC Hopkins as he goes on the road in support of his debut CD, Underneath a Brooklyn Moon, which is set for release later this summer. The California-born musician, who grew up listening to a mix of jazz and the Beatles, moved to New York five years ago and began his current project with a group of musicians which included Norah Jones, for whom he cowrote (with bassist Lee Alexander) “The Painter Song," featured on Jones' infectious Come Away with Me. In the loosely conceptual Underneath a Brooklyn Moon (Tigerlily Records), Hopkins tells the story of a couple who moves to the Borough of Kings to “make music and love." The songs, all scored for half-trad big band, drift seamlessly from third-stream into more bebop-like moments, and each song features the talents of the individuals in the band, including the likes of Patience Higgins, Warren Smith, Lewis “Flip" Barnes and Queen Esther (whose voice has an uncanny resemblance to that of the late Nina Simone). Although the tunes on the album have a “timey" feel to them, they're all but one originals written or cowritten by Hopkins. One of the highlights is “One Never Knows," a mid-tempo co-written with Norah Jones, in which Esther's vocals share the spotlight with saxophone solos by Higgins and Cleave Guyton; also pay attention to “Show Biz'ness," a jaded but humorous warning to anyone who's ever hoped--- Ernest Barteldes
Biggish Band Players (6/30): JC Hopkins - vocals, piano, songs Queen Esther - vocals Lewis “Flip" Barnes - vocals James Zollar - trumpet Chuck MacKinnon - trumpet Mark MacGowan - trumpet Vincent Chancey - French horn J Walter Hawkes - trombone Cleave Guyton - alto sax Seamus Blake - tenor sax Claire Daly - baritone sax Liberty Ellman - guitar Warren Smith - vibraphone Lindsey Horner - bass Sunny Jain - drums
Upcoming Shows: July 12 (Tues), Knitting Factory With Special Guest Victoria Williams! http://www.creekdipper.com/biopage.htm 74 Leonard Street NYC, NY 10013 *9pm - 10:30pm / $10 http://www.knittingfactory.com *note - new time!
July 15 (Fri), Joe's Pub, NYC 425 Lafayette St @ Astor Place $10 / 7pm (212) 539-8770 http://web.joespub.com/web_joes/
July 23 (Sat) Makor 35 W. 67th St @ Central Park West 8pm / $10 (212) 601-1000 http://www.makor.org
August 9th (Tues) Knitting Factory, NYC RECORD RELEASE!
http://www.shorefire.com/artists/jchopkins
http://www.jchopkins.com
-- Thank you for your support!
*THIS WEEK* Thursday, June 30th The Slipper Room, NYC (10pm - 1am) 167 Orchard St, @ Stanton (212) 253-7246 Special Price! / $5 http://www.slipperroom.com
The NY Press says this:
JC Hopkins Biggish Band
There's definitely a retro feel about bandleader, pianist and songwriter JC Hopkins as he goes on the road in support of his debut CD, Underneath a Brooklyn Moon, which is set for release later this summer. The California-born musician, who grew up listening to a mix of jazz and the Beatles, moved to New York five years ago and began his current project with a group of musicians which included Norah Jones, for whom he cowrote (with bassist Lee Alexander) “The Painter Song," featured on Jones' infectious Come Away with Me. In the loosely conceptual Underneath a Brooklyn Moon (Tigerlily Records), Hopkins tells the story of a couple who moves to the Borough of Kings to “make music and love." The songs, all scored for half-trad big band, drift seamlessly from third-stream into more bebop-like moments, and each song features the talents of the individuals in the band, including the likes of Patience Higgins, Warren Smith, Lewis “Flip" Barnes and Queen Esther (whose voice has an uncanny resemblance to that of the late Nina Simone). Although the tunes on the album have a “timey" feel to them, they're all but one originals written or cowritten by Hopkins. One of the highlights is “One Never Knows," a mid-tempo co-written with Norah Jones, in which Esther's vocals share the spotlight with saxophone solos by Higgins and Cleave Guyton; also pay attention to “Show Biz'ness," a jaded but humorous warning to anyone who's ever hoped--- Ernest Barteldes
Biggish Band Players (6/30): JC Hopkins - vocals, piano, songs Queen Esther - vocals Lewis “Flip" Barnes - vocals James Zollar - trumpet Chuck MacKinnon - trumpet Mark MacGowan - trumpet Vincent Chancey - French horn J Walter Hawkes - trombone Cleave Guyton - alto sax Seamus Blake - tenor sax Claire Daly - baritone sax Liberty Ellman - guitar Warren Smith - vibraphone Lindsey Horner - bass Sunny Jain - drums
Upcoming Shows: July 12 (Tues), Knitting Factory With Special Guest Victoria Williams! http://www.creekdipper.com/biopage.htm 74 Leonard Street NYC, NY 10013 *9pm - 10:30pm / $10 http://www.knittingfactory.com *note - new time!
July 15 (Fri), Joe's Pub, NYC 425 Lafayette St @ Astor Place $10 / 7pm (212) 539-8770 http://web.joespub.com/web_joes/
July 23 (Sat) Makor 35 W. 67th St @ Central Park West 8pm / $10 (212) 601-1000 http://www.makor.org
August 9th (Tues) Knitting Factory, NYC RECORD RELEASE!
http://www.shorefire.com/artists/jchopkins
http://www.jchopkins.com
-- Thank you for your support!
For more information contact All About Jazz.
