MARCH 2000 ITG JOURNAL

Greg Hopkins is known in the jazz community as an imaginative writer and a tremendous jazz trumpet player. In this latest release from the Summit Records Jazz Series, Hopkins teams up with an impressive group of musicians to explore the “tuba band” of nine instruments pioneered by Miles Davis and Gil Evans during the period in jazz history known as cool jazz, from about 1948 until the late ‘50s. Three of the standard works to come out of the cool jazz period are represented on this recording. The rest of the works are originals from composers writing in the style. The album cover deserves mention, for it is an original painting by Miles Davis, who simply called the painting Jazz! The album features the artistry of Greg Hopkins on trumpet and flugelhorn. Hopkins uses a wide range of tone colors and shadings in his playing, which are perfectly complemented by the rhythm section. The whole recording has a polished, professional feet, and the result is en album that is a joy to listen to. One track that deserves special recognition is the solo blues piece Just Blues featuring Chuck Marohnic. The style and technique Marohnic displays are worth the price of the album alone. Additional praise should go to recording engineer Clarke Rigsby for producing en intimate sounding jazz combo CD. The recording quality of this work is second to none. The only drawback to this tremendous album is the length. At a shade under fifty-three minutes, the listener is left wanting a few more tunes. Exploring a rather important period in jazz history, the Jazz Nonet has produced a recording that should be added to the collections of jazz buffs and brass players alike.                                                                                                              

— Joseph Bowman, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ