Elmo Hope Quintet Vol. 2 Elmo Hope Quintet

• 1 Crazy 04:15
• 2 Abdullah 03:46
• 3 Chips 03:36
• 4 Later For You 04:00
• 5 Low Tide 04:10
• 6 Maybe So 04:25
• Total Runtime 24:12

Info for Elmo Hope Quintet Vol. 2

„Of the collections of Elmo Hope's '50s recordings, Trio and Quintet is the one to get. It includes his prime Blue Note sessions and features a stellar cast of hard bop musicians including Art Blakey, Frank Foster, Philly Joe Jones, and Harold Land. The majority of the tunes are Hope originals which, in their angular introspection, bear the influence of both Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk.

Things begin with ten mostly hard bop swingers from a trio date in 1953. The opening number is the convoluted, yet hard swinging original 'Crazy'; it causes some problems for trumpeter Freeman Lee, but finds Foster in command with a vigorous solo statement. The remainder of the session impresses with a series of rhythmically rich Hope compositions which, like the majority of Monk's tunes, stay memorable in spite of their complexity.“(Stephen Cook)

Elmo Hope, piano
Charles Freeman Lee, trumpet
Frank Foster, tenor saxophone
Percy Heath, bass
Art Blakey, drums


Recorded on May 9, 1954, May at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack
Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder

Produced by Alfred Lion and Richard Bock

Digitally remastered

Elmo Hope
Overshadowed throughout his life by his friends Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, Elmo Hope was a talented pianist and composer whose life was cut short by drugs. His first important gig was with Joe Morris' R&B band (1948-1951). He recorded in New York as a leader (starting in 1953) and with Sonny Rollins, Lou Donaldson, Clifford Brown, and Jackie McLean, but the loss of his cabaret card (due to his drug use) made it very difficult for him to make a living in New York. After touring with Chet Baker in 1957, Hope relocated to Los Angeles. He performed with Lionel Hampton in 1959, recorded with Harold Land and Curtis Counce, and returned to New York in 1961. A short prison sentence did little to help his drug problem and, although he sounds fine on his trio performances of 1966, he died a little over a year later. Elmo Hope's sessions as a leader were cut for Blue Note, Prestige, Pacific Jazz, Hi Fi Jazz, Riverside, Celebrity, Beacon, and Audio Fidelity; his last albums were initially released on Inner City. Hope was also a fine composer, although none of his songs became standards. (Scott Yanow)

This album contains no booklet.