The genius of pianist/composer/arranger Elmo Hope is clearly evident in both the recordings he made and the compositions he wrote. Robert Palmer wrote in the New York Times, “Listening to Hope, one is struck by the depth and intensity of the music's emotional content, as well as by the harmonic ingenuity and sense of drama."
Though the full stature of Elmo Hope went largely unrecognized in his lifetime (he died at the age of 43 in 1967), being largely eclipsed by his contemporaries Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, there has emerged a growing appreciation of the richness and beauty of his work. In past years his compositions have been recorded by the likes of John Coltrane ("Weeja"), Clifford Brown ("De-Dah") and Harold Land ("Nieta") and, more recently by Benny Green ("Bellarosa"), Ralph Moore ("One Second, Please"), James Spaulding, ("Minor Bertha") , T.S. Monk ("Boa"), Roni Ben-Hur ("So Nice"), Walter Booker ("Something for Kenny") and Bertha Hope performs a number Elmo's tunes on her most recent CD “Nothing But Love".
The members of the El Mollenium quintet -- Charles Davis, tenor sax; Roni Ben-Hur, guitar; Bertha Hope, piano; Walter Booker, bass; Leroy Williams, drums, with guest vocalist Amy London -- are some of the top jazz musicians in New York City, and all are dedicated to carrying on Hope
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