Elmo Hope Trio

Elmo Hope | Format: Audio Cassette

Product Details

• Audio Cassette (October 25, 1991)
• Label: Ojc
• ASIN: B00000EOYM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Track Listings

1. B's A-Plenty

2. Barfly

3. Eejah

4. Boa

5. Something for Kenny

6. Like Someone in Love

7. Minor Bertha

8. Tranquility

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing compositions, emotionally rendered, make for one of the greatest piano trio recordings ever, January 20, 2009

By 

Matthew Watters (Vietnam) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elmo Hope Trio (Audio CD)

One of the greatest piano trio recordings stands out-of-print and unreviewed on Amazon.com. Over the years, I have probably listened to this album more than that by any other piano trio. It's endlessly fascinating, due to Hope's spiralling, intricate compositions, which put him in a rarified league with the likes of Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols. Tunes like "Barfly" and "Eejah" are the aural equivalent of those Escher staircases that spiral ever upwards before linking up with themsleves again. But Hope's playing, unlike Monk's -- which always retains an essential sunniness -- has a highly emotional pull, a drunk-slumped-over-a-bar sense of despair. Hope's musical personality is like a character from a Tom Waits song. This album is therefore both cerebral and affecting. Add in an amazing performance by drummer Frank Butler, one of the most underrated jazz musicians of all time, who turns in an astonishingly melodic performance from the drum kit, seemingly in lockstep with every twist and turn in Hope's compositions. And in "Something for Kenny", he does one of those amazing drum solos during which he was able to imperceptibly switch from sticks to his fingertips and back again. Amazing, all around.

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant, original gem, September 18, 2009

By 

SF Musician (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Elmo Hope Trio (Audio CD)

This is simply a great recording. It's also an especially sweet find, given that Elmo Hope and Frank Butler are largely forgotten today. Elmo has a very original sound and approach. It could loosely be described as "Monk but with better technique and tone," but that is not really accurate. Frank Butler is an amazing drummer. In my opinion, he stands on equal footing with Max Roach and Roy Haynes. His heroin problem and time away in prison are the main reasons that he never became famous. If you don't already have this (and you probably don't), you should.