Jimmy Hopps

James Edward "Jimmy" Hopps Jr. (born June 18, 1939 in Washington, DC ) is an American rhythm & blues and jazz musician who first played piano , then drums and also performed under the name Jimmi EsSpirit .

Live and act

Hopps received classical piano lessons from the age of five. In high school the clarinet was added; he also sang in the choir and learned the military drum technique. As a pianist he accompanied Marvin Gaye , The Emeralds, Herb Feme (later Peaches & Herb ) and Van McCoy . Between 1960 and 1963 he worked as the musical director of the studio band and vocal coach for the Start Records label. He has worked as a pianist, arranger and unit manager for The Jewels, Miss Connie X-Mas, The Blossoms, Bo Diddley and Billy Stewart .

For Bo Diddley he played as a drummer in 1964. He also took lessons as a big band drummer. In the trio of John Hicks , he accompanied in the Carnegie Hall , the singer Jackey Mabley and Hugh Masekela (at its first concert in the US), and then with Wild Bill Davis , Ella Fitzgerald , members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra , Stan Getz and Andy Bey act . In 1967 he toured the USSR with Roland Kirk, before studying at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory . 1968/69 he played again with Kirk; with Pharoah Sanders he performed at the Newport Jazz Festival . He went on a European tour with Charles Tolliver , Stanley Cowell and their Music Inc. In 1969/70 he stayed in Europe, where he took lessons from Kenny Clarke , performed with Pony Poindexter and accompanied Ben Webster , Hank Mobley and Dexter Gordon with Kenny Drew and Mal Waldron . In 1970 he performed with Abdullah Ibrahim and Johnny Dyani at Somhlolo Stadium in Swaziland .

In 1971 he returned to the United States, where he recorded with Shirley Scott , Joe Bonner and Linda Sharrock . Over the next few years he worked with Pharoah Sanders, Freddie Hubbard , Cecil McBee , Marion Brown , Dick Griffin , Eugene Ashton, Juma Santos and David S. Ware , with whom he can also be heard on albums. In 1975/76 he lived in Japan, where he led a trio with Kazumi Watanabe , which recorded his debut album Mudari - Spirit Of Song . Another album was created in a trio with pianist Fumio Karashima and bassist Isao Suzuki. Back in the USA in 1978 he changed his name to Jimmi EsSpirit and worked with Kirk Lightsey , after which he worked intensively on spirituals for several years . In the mid-1980s he was artist in residence at the Universidad de Colima , where he performed with the Trio Chia Jen . In 1987 he moved to New Orleans , where he and his bands opened the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for several years . In 1989 he toured with Sun Ra . Over the next few years he worked with Stanley Cowell, Khalil Mhrdi, Richard Landrum, Arthur Jenkins, Roy Haynes , Frank Wess and numerous other musicians.

Discographic notes

• Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Inflated Tear (1967)
• Stanley Cowell: Blues for the Viet Cong (1969)
• Charles Tolliver: Inc. Big Band (1971)
• Carol Kaye : First Lady on Bass (1994)
• Sun Ra Arkestra (conducted by Marshall Allen ): A Song for the Sun (1999)

Web links

• Entry (Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians)
• Jimmy Hopps at Allmusic (English)