Press
Jon Garelick: “… Greg Hopkins put it over the top”
December 2014 Boston Globe
“The crystalline glow of Kris Adams’s singing, along with her technical assurance and emotional commitment, make this a standout vocal album, but the arrangements by her Berklee colleague Greg Hopkins put it over the top. Hopkins worked with Adams on seven of the 11 tracks, sometimes with as many as 10 pieces, including cello. The varied material ranges from Joni Mitchell’s “The Dawntreader” and Michel Legrand’s “Once Upon a Summertime” to Mary Lou Williams’s “What’s Your Story Morning Glory?,” a couple of pieces by the British singer Norma Winstone (including the title track), and Adams’s own lyric setting of Steve Swallow’s “Wrong Together.””
Dave Fries' Top 10 Albums Of 2013
December 2013 A Taste of Jazz
Greg Hopkins Quintet + One's Reality Check
Trumpeter Greg Hopkins teams up with an ensemble of the highest order. I’m talking about musicians’ musicians – featuring tenor man Billy Pierce, veteran of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and the Tony Williams Quintet.
REALITY CHECK
December 2013 Jazz Inside
“Masters of musical dialogue”; that’s how leader Greg Hopkins describes his creative cohorts on this album. And who could dispute him? It’s evident from the first note that there is a rich connection that’s taken place throughout these recording sessions and between the participants involved. This record, essentially, is about seasoned vets that have nurtured their sound for a significant amount of time. And here are the results of their diligent road work and artistic commitment....
QUINTOLOGY
JUNE 2004 JAZZTIMES
Greg Hopkins, out of Boston, taps two vastly underrated players on Quintology (Summit): tenor saxophonist Bill Pierce and guitarist Mick Goodrick. (Bassist Jim Stinnett and drummer Gary Chaffee complete the lineup.) Except for a midtempo arrangement of “Here’s to My Lady,” all the tunes are by Hopkins, a gifted writer whose difficult lines and insightful harmonizations seem tailor-made for this instrumentation.
From Motown to Berklee, He's Mastered It All
MARCH 31, 2001 THE BOSTON GLOBE
The new CD, Okavongo, and a pair of upcoming concerts by Greg Hopkins and his 16-Piece Jazz Orchestra should confirm that Hopkins is one of Boston’s greatest jazz resources. Over lunch Monday, the trumpeter-composer discussed his journey from Motown session man and self-taught orchestrator to Berklee writing guru with the same enthusiasm, wide-ranging curiosity, and personal style that stamps his music.