Jazz Articles about Marohnic, Pilafian, Hopkins Jazz Nonet

Marohnic, Pilafian, Hopkins Jazz Nonet: Jazz!

by Joel Roberts
June 1, 1999

With virtually the same instrumentation as Miles Davis' so-called Tuba Band - only a French horn is missing, replaced by a second trombone - the Marohnic, Pilafian, Hopkins Jazz Nonet revisits the legacy of the Davis nonet on their outstanding debut album (named, fittingly, after a Davis drawing, featured on the CD cover).

Three tunes from Davis' “Birth of the Cool" sessions form the heart of the album, but this is more than just a tribute or repertory ensemble. The ...

Marohnic / Pilafian / Hopkins Jazz Nonet: Jazz!

by Jack Bowers
May 1, 1999

Remember Miles Davis’ groundbreaking Birth of the Cool sessions from 1949–50? Here they are again — in essence, at least — convincingly reawakened by the Jazz Nonet, which is composed primarily of faculty members at Arizona State University in Tempe. Three of the songs from those earlier dates — Cleo Henry’s “Boplicity,” John Carisi’s “Israel,” the classic Gil Evans arrangement of Johnny Mercer’s “Moondreams” — are augmented by five others including three by trumpeter Hopkins, pianist Marohnic’s “Just Blues” and ...

Marohnic, Pilafian, Hopkins Jazz Nonet: Jazz!

by Jim Santella
May 1, 1999

In tribute to Miles Davis’ landmark fifty-year-old Birth Of The Cool Capitol album, Summit Records has put together an ensemble featuring like instrumental timbres. Greg Hopkins conducts and leads with stirring trumpet melodies while Chuck Marohnic and Sam Pilafian lend piano and tuba depth to the session. The album’s cover art, provided by the estate of Miles Davis, is the trumpeter’s painting “Jazz," which depicts him at work with a trio. The album cover, which is representative of Davis’ other ...