A talented stride pianist, Claude Hopkins never became as famous as he deserved. He was a bandleader early on, and toured Europe in the mid-'20s as the musical director for Josephine Baker. Hopkins returned to the U.S. in 1926, led his own groups, and in 1930 took over Charlie Skeete's band. Between 1932-1935, he recorded steadily with his big band (all of the music has been reissued on three Classics CDs), which featured Jimmy Mundy arrangements and such fine soloists as trumpeter/vocalist Ovie Alston, trombonist Fernando Arbello, a young Edmond Hall on clarinet, and baritone and tenorman Bobby Sands, along with the popular high-note vocals of Orlando Roberson. The orchestra's recordings are a bit erratic, with more than their share of mistakes from the ensembles and a difficulty in integrating Hopkins' powerhouse piano with the full group, but they are generally quite enjoyable. Mundy's eccentric "Mush Mouth" is a classic, and Hopkins introduced his best-known original, "I Would Do Anything for You." Although they played regularly at Roseland (1931-1935) and the Cotton Club (1935-1936), and there were further sessions in 1937 and 1940, the Claude Hopkins big band never really caught on and ended up breaking up at the height of the swing era. Hopkins did lead a later, unrecorded big band (1944-1947), but mostly worked with small groups for the remainder of his career. He played with Red Allen's group during the second half of the 1950s, led his own band during 1960-1966, and in 1968 was in the Jazz Giants with Wild Bill Davison. Claude Hopkins led an obscure record for 20th Century Fox (1958) and three Swingville albums (1960-1963), but his best later work were solo stride dates for Chiaroscuro and Sackville (both in 1972), and a trio session for Black & Blue in 1974; it is surprising that his piano skills were not more extensively documented.
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Claude Hopkins, un talentoso pianista stride, nunca se hizo tan famoso como se merecía. Fue director de orquesta a principios, y realizó una gira por Europa a mediados de los años 20 como director musical de Josephine Baker. Hopkins regresó a Estados Unidos en 1926, dirigió sus propios grupos y en 1930 se hizo cargo de la banda de Charlie Skeete. Entre 1932 y 1935, grabó de manera constante con su big band (toda la música ha sido reeditada en tres CDs de clásicos), en los que se incluían arreglos de Jimmy Mundy y solistas tan buenos como el trompetista/vocalista Ovie Alston, el trombonista Fernando Arbello, un joven Edmond Hall en el clarinete, y el barítono y tenor Bobby Sands, junto con las populares voces de Orlando Roberson. Las grabaciones de la orquesta son un poco erráticas, con más de su cuota de errores de los conjuntos y una dificultad para integrar el poderoso piano de Hopkins con el grupo completo, pero en general son bastante agradables. El excéntrico "Mush Mouth" de Mundy es un clásico, y Hopkins introdujo su original más conocido, "I Would Do Anything for You". Aunque tocaron regularmente en Roseland (1931-1935) y en el Cotton Club (1935-1936), y hubo más sesiones en 1937 y 1940, la gran banda de Claude Hopkins nunca se puso de moda y terminó rompiendo en el apogeo de la era del swing. Hopkins lideró una big band posterior, no grabada (1944-1947), pero trabajó principalmente con grupos pequeños durante el resto de su carrera. Tocó con el grupo de Red Allen durante la segunda mitad de los años 50, dirigió su propia banda durante 1960-1966, y en 1968 estuvo en los Jazz Giants con Wild Bill Davison. Claude Hopkins dirigió un oscuro disco para 20th Century Fox (1958) y tres álbumes de Swingville (1960-1963), pero su mejor trabajo posterior fueron las fechas de zancadas en solitario para Chiaroscuro y Sackville (ambos en 1972), y una sesión de trío para Black & Blue en 1974; es sorprendente que sus habilidades como pianista no estuvieran más ampliamente documentadas.
